The Return of Ares
by Rita Arabella Black
Summary: The is the continuation of Charlie's War. Charlie Weasley and the Army of the Righteous battle Ares's dark army and demon forces in the desert in a war to save mankind.
1. Chapter 1 New Year's Eve in the Desert

**A/N: This story is a continuation of **_**Charlie's War.**_** –Rita.**

_Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling_

Chapter One--New Year's Eve in the Desert

Why Charlie Weasley volunteered for "tour" duty on New Year's Eve, he had no idea. What he should be doing was partying his ass off in Mexico with a bunch of his friends, getting too pissed to walk and ending up in bed with some beautiful witch, whose name he wouldn't remember who either would brag to her friends that she slept with the famous Quidditch player from the Reds, who were, by the way World Cup Champions, or pretend she couldn't remember what happened. He would also like to have spent New Year's with his girlfriend, Jessica, but she was in Dallas doing some kind of artist thing.

So here he was, demonstrating dragon safety to a bunch of tourists (_Dragon safety; when a Flying Demon approaches you from the air, throw away your wand and kiss your ass good-bye, because there is no way to prevent becoming a crispy critter when confronted by a seven ton fire breathing dragon with a pissed off attitude. Oh yeah, and have a really fun time, while you are being carried away by spiders that are as big as Mini Coopers or seduced by sirens, who will steal your soul, leaving your stupid-ass body to rot on the desert floor.)._

"Any time you're out here with the group, please do not wander away. The disillusioning charm only covers the immediate area," he said more pleasantly than he felt. "If you happen to see an arachnid smaller than four feet across, please leave it alone because its mother is going to be looking for it."

The group, seven witches and three wizards, all adults (_thank God, no children to sacrifice!)_ looked at him uneasily. Maybe they were thinking this wasn't such a good idea. He hoped so. The idea of opening up a dangerous dragon preserve to tourists had to be one of the dumbest ideas management had ever come up with. The even stupider idea was having the tours sanctioned by the Department of Magical Tourism.

The only consolation for Charlie was that he wasn't out here alone; his good friend Ricardo Sanchez ("Boo") and Dustin Franco were with them for the overnight tour. Dustin was one of the new interns that had been dropped in the wranglers' laps a month ago. He wasn't as bad as some of the interns Charlie had been forced to train; he was a good flyer and wasn't a Quidditch fan (_although Charlie couldn't understand anyone who didn't like Quidditch, but at least he wasn't following him around like a puppy trying to get pictures or an autograph or telling him what he could do to improve his game)_.

Boo, on the other hand, was one of the coolest wizards Charlie had ever met. He had a barrio look, but was one of the nicest wizards Charlie knew. He looked fierce, which was an advantage when trying to scoot unsuspecting muggles away from a nest of sleeping dragons. Ricardo was very intimidating figure. He looked like the stereotypical gang banger. His arms, neck and chest were covered in tattoos. He wore a bandana and a lot of leather. Like Charlie's friend, Mike, Ricardo always carried a firearm with him when they patrolled the muggle highway that intersected the dragon preserve. Few muggles were intimidated by a huge man waving around a little stick; but no one was ready to challenge a desperado with a shot gun.

"Is it okay to fire off our wands at midnight?" one of the men asked.

"Oh yeah, sure. It'll scare off the spiders, but it may attract the Verdemalos. _I don't know for sure because I've never been stupid enough to shoot sparks out of my wand just for fun in the middle of a fucking desert ass deep in dragons."_ He didn't actually say the second part out loud.

Boo slapped Charlie on his shoulder and grinned. "Of course, you may. Just make sure you stay in the perimeter."

"We also brought some adult refreshment to toast in the New Year," the man said, grinning. "We do hope you'll join us at midnight."

Dustin was busy trying to impress some of the witches. He was very cute and had a wholesome cowboy, _aw-shucks-ma'am_ look that most women found appealing. Dustin's eyes lit up at the invitation to join the group for a drink, but Charlie shook his head. "Sorry," he said.

Of all his vices, and they were legion, Charlie never drank on duty. He had too much respect for his teammates and co-workers. Now, he had gone to work nursing a giant sized hangover once or twice, but he was always functional.

The tour group ate with the other wranglers in the dining hall. Dustin ate at their table while Charlie and Ricardo sat with their friends. Most were heading out for the party in Mexico after their shifts were over and couldn't help rubbing it in. Charlie took the ribbing with his usual good humor.

"So you coming to the party, Weasley. No, wait, you have to work." Jack said, jokingly.

"Fuck you," he said a little too loudly. A couple of the tourist witches turned around and stared at him. He smiled and waved. "Sorry," he mouthed pointing to Jack. "He's got a mouth like a sewer. Pay him no mind."

The women looked at each other and started whispering among themselves.

Jack gave him a look and flipped him off. "Any of the tourist witches look good to you?" Jack said, eyeing the table behind them.

Charlie shook his head. "No. After the last tour I've sworn off trying anything stupid."

On the very first tour the preserve arranged, he and Pete were making out with two of the adult women chaperones when a swarm of giant arachnids decided to watch. He realized at that point that any chance at romance would have to be sought when he was off duty.

"Why'd you volunteer to work tonight? I thought for sure you'd want to go to that big party." Boo asked, reaching across the table for a piece of bread.

"I have to work tomorrow night anyway. I took a full week off Christmas and Mike worked. I didn't want to be greedy. I think Mike's going to Lindsey's family this New Year." Charlie explained. Lindsey was Mike's muggle wife. She was also Charlie's girlfriend's cousin.

"Patrol?" Boo asked.

Charlie nodded. "You know there's going to be a lot of activity with muggles trying to kill themselves with fireworks tomorrow. Then I'll be out the rest of the week doing census and harvesting."

"Who's going with you?"

He thought for a moment then shook his head. "No idea. Probably somebody from the nursery. More than likely I'll get one of the interns. Most everyone has asked for the day off to recover from the party."

"The party of the century," Jack chimed in. Charlie ignored him.

"Well," said Boo. "I'm off tomorrow after we turn over this group and I have a date with Camilla. Didn't you two used to go out?"

Charlie nodded. Camilla was the only co-worker he dated at the preserve. Normally he didn't date women he worked with. That was one of his few rules to live by. "She thought I was afraid of commitment," he said, grinning.

Dustin turned around and leaned over to their table. "One of the men wants to talk to you, Charlie."

Charlie magicked his tray back into the kitchen and walked over to the tourists' table.

"Yes sir?" he asked expectantly.

"What's on the agenda for this evening?" The tall wizard named Dominick asked.

"After dinner, we'll take you to the nursery to get a look at the hatchery. Dragon eggs are removed from their mothers right after they're laid when there's a real danger of the mothers stepping on the eggs. Sometimes it takes a while for the maternal instinct to kick in. First time moms are the worst. They don't know what's going on; then sometimes the eggs are stolen by the males for food. It's really a better way to ensure the continuation of the species. There are so few dragons left; we do everything to help preserve them."

"How many species are there?" One of the witches, Hope, who was listening in asked.

"There are only three indigenous species of dragon in North America. Actually four, but that species lives far to the north and is a sea dragon. I personally think the American Red is a descendant of the sea dragons and adapted to the land after the oceans disappeared. The Verdemalos probably migrated to this area during the last ice age and followed the mammoths here. We don't know much about the Flying Demons. Legend is that two dragons escaped from an evil place to guard the gates of the domain. The Flying Demons are the most mystical and the most intelligent of the three. When the evil lords return to earth, supposedly the Flying Demons are the gate keepers ones who will let them in.

"The preserve is also home to a wide variety of magical creatures." Charlie continued brightly. The group was in rapt attention.

"Uh, Mr. Weasley, uh, Charlie, what were you saying about the Flying Demons being gate keepers for the evil lords?"

"Well, it's just a legend. I personally don't think dark wizards are waiting at the gates of the domain to be let in by Flying Demons. I think the dark wizards are already here and they didn't need any help getting here."


	2. Chapter 2 New Year's Day

**A/N: This story is a continuation of **_**Charlie's War.**_** –Rita.**

_**Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling.**_

Chapter 2—New Year's Day

Eleven pairs of eyes were glued on Charlie waiting on his signature grin and cheery smile. But he was stony faced. He clenched his jaw.

The truth was, American wizards had never experienced the influence or control of a dark wizard like Charlie and his friends and family had. During the reign of Lord Voldemort, Americans were blissfully unaware of the years of torture he and his Death Eaters had inflicted. The American Department of Magic turned a deaf ear and failed to warn its citizens of the potential dangers.

There were a few brave souls who listened to the warning and recognized the signs of the coming of dark Magic to America. Those witches and wizards banded together and swore an oath to protect muggles and fight the evil forces. Finally, though, the Department of Magic began funding its Auror Division, finally realizing the threat was real.

Department of Magic Secretary Silas Roundtree decreed that the Department of Magic was now dedicated to the protection of their muggle friends and protection of American wizards against evil tyranny. Charlie wondered if it was too little too late, but at least it was a start.

A very evil wizard calling himself Ares, a former Death Eater, came to America with the single goal of subjugating muggles and wizards and ruling in an Age of Dark Magic. Ares had a very beautiful witch at his side named Muireann, whose job was to recruit gullible young people into their coven. She used her sex appeal and she was very good at using her body to attract and enlist a few hundred young boys to join the fight. This was an easy task since American wizards didn't understand the concept. Using the weak minded had been a useful tool. Ares wanted an army of devotees dedicated to the dark arts. Ares's secret weapon was triplet wizard vampires whose mission was to turn wizards into an army of vampires loyal to Ares. Ares felt America was ripe for the invasion because very few even believed in the existence of dark magic.

Charlie finally smiled, and the group visibly relaxed. He waited patiently as the group finished their meal, then, as promised walked them over to the nursery, where they were given a special VIP tour. Fortunately, they were able to witness the hatching of a very special American Red Dragon. The group were amazed how quickly the little Red clawed his way out of the shell. Reds had very small undeveloped wings, and while they are able to fly as babies, they soon become too heavy for flight as they reach adulthood. It was Charlie, in fact, that discovered the Reds' ability to fly. No one had ever seen a Red fly and it was believed it was impossible.

The Red flapped its little wings and blew a small circle of smoke from its nostrils. It coughed a few times and spewed methane gas, clearing out the blocked gas portal in its mouth. Another cough and it ignited a flame. The tourists laughed and clapped with delight. Baby dragons were so cute.

Charlie raised an eyebrow when one brave (_stupid)_ tourist asked if she could pet the dragon. The nursery worker looked at Charlie in horror. Charlie smiled and politely told the woman it wasn't a very good idea. The next moment the Red belched a flame that ignited the egg shell reducing it to an ashy outline of the former shell.

"We don't encourage human contact," the nursery worker explained.

The ten tourists nodded and stepped away from the dragon and followed Charlie, Ricardo and Dustin back to their camp site.

The rest of the evening was spent with the promise of a fun- filled party bringing in the new year. The witches were excited about celebrating in the desert away from the usual crowds and were still trying to talk Charlie and the others to join them. Maybe he was being unreasonable. He promised that he and the other guides would join them. His melancholy mood over the past couple of days was beginning to grate on his nerves. He needed to snap out of it and relax. There was something that he just couldn't name that was nagging at him and it just wasn't right.

As the revelers pointed their wands into the air, counting down the seconds, Charlie thought about his family in England. He had made the conscious decision not to go home for the holidays and he was missing his mother and father and the loud boisterousness of their home. Theirs was a home full of love and he needed to connect. That evening he got the feeling he would never see his family again. He tried hard not to show how sad he felt and even let the witches give him a New Year's kiss. After the toasts were made and the fireworks gone, he felt slightly better.

Around the campfire the tourists were beginning to drink too much of the wine they brought and became a little cocky. Each had to give their resolutions for the coming year and encouraged their guides to participate.

Dustin, who had drunk a wee bit too much, boldly told the group, "I'm going to finish school and come back here and be a wrangler full time."

Everyone applauded and he grinned confidently.

Ricardo wasn't comfortable telling the group of strangers what his resolution was but said that he hadn't made any and would have to think about it and to get back with him later.

"Charlie?" one of the women began. "What could you possibly resolve? I mean you are more famous than anyone in the world, and I know you have everything you could possibly want. Your life is, well face it, perfect." The women giggled.

Charlie gave them a resigned look. "Not even, no way. Let's see," he said, rubbing his hands together like he was trying to keep warm. "This year, I will discover a new species of dragon; take my team to the Quidditch World Cup; find a cure for spattergroit, and marry my girlfriend, settle down and have lots of babies."

The group, along with Ricardo and Dustin, who must have imagined themselves unstunnable, were clearly stunned. Charlie, the eternal bachelor, who had major commitment issues, was talking about getting married and, the man who didn't even like children wanted to have babies? Who was this wizard and what had he done to Charlie Weasley?

The pretty blond witch sitting close to him turned and looked at him. "You have a _girlfriend?"_ she asked incredulously. "I thought you broke up with your girlfriend, Minerva."

He nodded, taking another swig from the bottle of wine that had been passed to him. "I did."

"So you're not going to marry Minerva?" Another girl asked hopefully.

"Fuck no. Sorry." Charlie said, blanching at the idea.

"If Charlie Weasley gets married, then you have to check out hell because I know it must have frozen over," Ricardo said, laughing.

" Exactly. See ladies, the first step in my ingenius plan is to meet the witch of my dreams, which obviously hasn't happened yet. Then I have to get her drunk enough to marry me, that'll be hard because, honestly, I'm a real bastard when it comes to women, so she'd have to be _really _drunk or better yet, confunded. Finally if I do talk the unfortunate woman into marrying me, I have to figure out a way to get her to agree to have a baby. Face it; most women aren't crazy about the idea bringing a child into the world without the moral support of the father. I'd definitely take off during Quidditch season or if they discovered a new species of dragon leaving her and the baby totally alone. And, I'm thinking it would be terribly cruel to bring another red head into the world, especially a boy. People like Boo here would spend their lives torturing the poor kid and stealing his wand."

Charlie sincerely expected the women of the group to be put off by this rather dismal assessment of marriage to Charlie Weasley, but apparently he didn't know women as well as he thought he did.

"Oh you poor, dear." The rather short witch, with a large gap between her teeth said. "You're crying out for love. I know those other women, Minerva, Joanna, Diane, and that muggle bitch must have turned your heart to stone, but believe me, Charlie," she said touching his hand. "There are good witches out there; you just need to find the right one."

Charlie looked at her somberly, and then cracked a smile. "I was just pulling your chain," he said. "I'd rather get spattergroit than get married. I can't believe you bought that bullshit. And for the record, I never slept with Joanna; she's like a sister to me." He was referring to Joanna Morgan-Kingsley, one of the chasers on his Quidditch team. The press had been speculating about their relationship for quite some time. The gossip got worse when she went off and married the seeker for the Hamilton (Ontario) Horntails, Jordan Kingsley. The rumors got more ridiculous when Joanna got pregnant. Several of the more silly celebrity reporters spread the rumor that Jordan and Charlie were lovers and Joanna was having the couple's baby, while some actually reported that Jordan married Joanna because Charlie refused to acknowledge that the baby was his.

He didn't appreciate Jessica being described as _that muggle bitch, _either_._ The fact was they had gotten back together over Christmas, but that was their little secret and he swore no one from the wizarding world, especially the press, would find out about it. She had broken up with him the first time because of a wizard celebrity magazine cover story.

Everyone seemed a little uncomfortable about that time and one by one the group wandered off to their tents. It was well past midnight; Charlie and Ricardo went to check the perimeter.

"Are you all right?" Boo asked.

"Sure. I'm a little pissed off. Did you happen to notice that everyone seemed to know my life better than me? I mean who would know I broke up with a girlfriend? Who would even care?" He shook his head. "This whole thing is getting so fucking old."

"But you're famous, Charlie. You can't help that. You are a professional Quidditch player. People want to know you. Hell, people want to _be_ you. They don't have lives of their own, so they live through you. You knew what you were getting into when you started playing Quidditch." Ricardo said.

"I guess I did, but I had no idea people would find my life interesting. Why can't I just play fucking Quidditch? I don't understand it sometimes. I'm not feeling sorry for myself, well, maybe a little, but really don't get the fascination of wanting to know everything about me. Why do they only pick up the stupid stuff? Like the women I date or what kind of trainers I wear? Or the fact I like to party? I wish more people knew about my commitment to fight dark magic and how much it has affected my life."

"You tell them, bro. You are the perfect spokesman. People listen to you."

"Bullshit, Boo. Nobody wants to hear about what's really going on." Charlie ran his hands through his hair. He let out a sigh of frustration. Then he shook his head. "Fuck it. I'll be all right."

By the time the group had been hustled into the front office the next day, Charlie seemed to have snapped out of his melancholy. He was flying today and that always made him happy. He would also be away from the tourists and management for a whole week, and that prospect made him happier.

Ricardo checked out and was on his way to Camilla's room for a delayed New Year's celebration. Charlie stopped by the dining hall and ate breakfast. He needed a shower then he would be back on patrol.

Surprisingly there was no activity along the muggle intersection the whole day. Charlie figured most people were too hung over or stayed at home watching their televisions. He enjoyed the patrol that day. The weather was clear and just enough coolness in the air to make it pleasant. At the end of his shift, at sunset he saw the very rare sight of a herd of winged horses flying in perfect formation flying into the sun. He decided to spend the night under the stars and wait on his companions to start his weeklong tour of census taking. He was finally at peace. Unfortunately, that wasn't to last.


	3. Chapter 3 The First Battle

_Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling_

Chapter 3—The First Battle

Charlie met up with the census takers and the harvesters from the nursery right on schedule. They would be going deep into the mountains where the last census indicated a large nest of Flying Demons had been gathering over the past six months. The researchers had no idea why they were migrating to an unnamed gorge, but speculated that the fissures were emitting noxious gases that helped the Demons in their mating process.

Dustin Franco had begged the front office for the opportunity to work with Charlie and the rest. The nursery worker was Eileen Parker, who had been at the preserve for only four months. She had graduated with a letter in Care of Magical Creatures and this would be her first harvest. The director of the nursery felt that she was in good hands with Charlie, since he had assisted in four harvests. Charlie had taken at least 12 censuses and knew where the nesting spots were. The lead census taker was an experienced researcher named Wolfgang Gomez, a Mexican wizard who had a German mother. He had been at the preserve the longest; six years.

Charlie didn't know the fellows he was with very well. He had only worked briefly with Dustin, and he was too much of greenhorn to be much help, but he had to start somewhere.

By the second day the group had traveled into a remote area in the state of Coahuila in the Sierra Madre Oriental Mountain range. They were supposed to meet up with representatives of the Mexican _Departamento y Regulación de Mágicamente Seres._ They waited for over four hours but the representatives never showed up. It was getting late, so they decided to camp near a gorge and wait for them the next day. Eileen and Dustin were supposed to return to the preserve that evening with the six eggs they had collected, but decided to stay until the morning because they wouldn't be able to disapparate due to their sensitive cargo. The eggs were packed carefully in a firebox to keep them incubated. They settled in for the evening and Charlie made a nice roaring fire. They had rationed their supplies for the week but the unexpected addition of Eileen that night would not be of any consequence. Charlie used a spell that doubled the portions. She kept apologizing for being such an inconvenience, but Charlie assured her that it was not a big deal. He started to get a little annoyed at her constant apologizing for everything she did. Finally, after the fortieth apology, he ignored her and when she tried to engage in normal conversation, she had to repeat herself.

Dustin was in heaven. He loved being out in the wilderness with the group. He was determined to come back and work at the preserve full time once he finished school. He knew he was in the best company; Charlie was an expert on all things dragons and he wasn't reluctant to share information with Dustin. Dustin was afraid that Charlie, the big Quidditch celebrity, would be unapproachable, but he was actually one of the nicest wizards at the preserve. He was sure he'd be able to learn much from Charlie.

It took Wolfgang the longest to warm up to the group. He was pretty much of a loner as most researchers were. Like the wranglers, they were sent out into the field for long stretches usually alone or with another researcher. They spent the rest of their time writing reports and working on statistical reports. He was a nice enough wizard. His family still lived in Mexico and he was fluent in English, Spanish, and German. He had a habit of muttering to himself in German.

Unlike Dustin who didn't follow the game, Wolfgang was a huge Quidditch fan. He favored Mexico's team, of course, but had seen Charlie's team play an exhibition game with Mexico. Charlie had a lot of respect for the Mexican team, especially the beaters, who almost always managed to knock him silly with the bludger at least twice during a match. Charlie and Wolfgang talked about Mexico's seeker, Roderick Guerrero. Both agreed that Guerrero had matured a lot since last season, and was quickly becoming one of the best seekers in the game.

The group discussed the pros and cons of opening up the preserve to tourists. The only one who thought it was a good idea was Dustin, but he changed his mind quickly after he was confronted with the opposition.

"About the only thing positive I can say about the dumbest idea in the history of the wizarding world is that is not a bad way to meet women," Charlie said in his typically cheery voice. "The rest of it sucks."

The group settled in for the night relatively early. There wasn't much to do and they needed to get an early start in the morning. They had used a disillusioning charm to protect the site like they did with the tourist campsites.

As Charlie checked the outside perimeter for the last time, he noticed that the area above them was trembling, like the onset of an earthquake. He looked closer and saw at least eight Flying Demons settle into the area. He froze. What the hell did that mean? He had never seen that many Flying Demons concentrated in one area before. They were primarily loners and never banded together except when mating. Perhaps this was their mating area, but the problem was he felt the hair on the back of his neck and his arms stand up. Something was terribly wrong.

Silently, he pulled out his wand and stood at the ready. He wasn't foolish enough to go running into a nest of dragons, but he wanted to be ready if anything should jump out of the bushes at him. On high alert, he took one step, and a massive creature he had never seen before jumped out of the rocks and stood before him. The beast was low to the ground and growling at him. The thing was huge, and it had glowing red eyes. It reminded Charlie of a dragon and a mountain lion crossed. It had a ridgeback of scales and leathery wings but was covered in fur. Its teeth were huge and stained red like it had just finished a meal of raw meat. Its paws had the longest claws Charlie had ever seen. It snarled at Charlie menacingly, and he knew if he took a step one way or attempted to turn around, the beast would pounce on him.

The good news was, Charlie was fairly certain the monster couldn't see him; the bad news was he was sure the beast could smell him. For the first time in his adult life, Charlie was afraid. He wasn't afraid of dying; he never feared death. He was afraid for the people at the campsite not twenty yards away. If the beast killed him, and at that point, there was a great possibility that it would, he wasn't confident that Dustin or Wolfgang or even Eileen would be able to defend themselves. Charlie, after all, was a warrior and a dragon wrangler. He had contained dragons and even killed one, but this creature was different. It had an intelligent look about it. And he knew it wasn't alone. The beast wore a collar around its neck, made of some metal and dotted with emeralds and rubies. It didn't look like someone's fluffy pet either; it was a guardian.

Another beast, looking exactly like the first one stepped into the clearing alongside the other. It, too, wore a collar. The beasts stood side by side, both ready to pounce. From behind the beasts he heard a voice. The voice was calling to them. A figure walked into the clearing next to the creatures and began stroking one and then the other. It appeared to be a woman, but Charlie couldn't tell for sure because the figure was cloaked from head to toe in a black or blackish-red robe. The hand that stroked the beasts was pale and small, which is why Charlie thought it was a woman. There was a large ruby set in a ring the figure wore on her right second finger.

The beasts relaxed and sat at her feet. She spoke to them soothingly. Yep, thought Charlie, definitely a woman. For one crazy moment, that seemed to calm him. Maybe he thought he could charm her into no setting the creatures on him, and he almost laughed out loud at the ludicrous thought.

It appeared that she was waiting on someone and they were late. Suddenly from Charlie's left, another figure approached. Charlie could see this was a man. The man slowly walked toward the woman, stopped and bowed. He prostrated himself on the ground in front of her and said something Charlie couldn't hear. The woman, whose face was still shielded by the robe, told him to rise. He rose slowly, keeping his head down in a subservient manner. She held out her right hand, which the man took immediately and kissed reverently.

"Get up," she said harshly. "Why are you late?"

The man bowed again. "Forgive me. My band ran into a group from the Mexican _Departamento y Regulación de Mágicamente Seres_, and we had to take care of them."

Charlie closed his eyes. He had a good idea what he meant when he said they took care of them. No wonder the men hadn't met up with Charlie's group; they were probably dead.

Thought ran wildly through his brain. Why the hell couldn't these people see him? He knew he was under the disillusioning charm, but still. Maybe they were sure no one else was around. The area was very remote and hard to get to and to be perfectly honest, he was exactly sure where he was anyway. So he said a little prayer and remained completely still. Even the beasts had lost interest in him; they were obediently staying with their master and kept an eye on the man who had humbled himself before her.

"Most exalted one," the man said. "You have decided that you will help me?"

Her voice sounded brusque and annoyed. "Yes, for the right price. Are you prepared to pay me for the use of my army?"

He bowed again. "For the amount we agreed upon."

She shrugged a shoulder. "I'm not so sure it is enough." She asked. "Is your soul so valuable?"

"Not my soul, great one, but I give you dominion over the land and the people we conquer." The man stepped closer to the woman and into the moonlight_. It was Ares_.

Charlie almost fell backward. His first instinct was to pull out his wand and perform the killing curse, but he didn't want to give Ares the opportunity to kill his co-workers, if indeed he had a band of followers with him. He had no idea what the woman promised him; she had said she was providing him an army, but an army of what?

The woman held out her hand and in it appeared a glowing green orb. It emitted golden lights that shot out of it in pulses. The woman handed the orb to Ares and he placed it in a golden box. The two beasts that accompanied her went to Ares on her command. She turned around and walked back into the darkness. Ares remained head bowed until she had completely disappeared, then he called to someone behind him to help him. Three dark robed wizards appeared and took the creatures and the box. Ares turned to go, but suddenly turned toward Charlie. He had a sly smile upon his lips. He looked straight at Charlie, and he was sure Ares could see him, but he turned back and walked away.

Charlie turned and ran toward the camp; he had to warn the others and they had to get out of there. But when he got to the camp, it was surrounded by dark hooded men. Ares had seen him after all. There were twenty or so men and they were closing in on the camp. Someone had shot a bolt into the disillusioning charm and it disappeared, leaving the tents exposed. No one was awake yet. They were going to be slaughtered, he was sure. He called out loudly. Not knowing what else to do, he aimed his wand and began throwing curses at the ones closest to him. He fought fiercely and managed to hit the four with painful curses. The wizards fighting him weren't very well trained, just like last time, but these didn't turn and run at the first sign of a fight. They kept going toward the tents, ready to battle whatever came out.

Eileen stayed in her tent after Charlie told her to stay where she was. Wolfgang came out of his tent first, wand at the ready. Charlie knew Dustin must be frightened. He was just a kid after all, but he bravely ran out of the tent, aiming disarming curses at the group. He was caught almost immediately with a killing curse and his young body was thrown into the air and landed with a sickening crunch. He had not been prepared to fight.

"Use the killing curse," shouted Charlie to Wolfgang.

"I don't know it," Wolfgang shouted back. He used the best defenses he had; mostly stunning spells, but he was not match for the army of robed wizards. Charlie watched helplessly as Wolfgang was struck again and again.

Although Charlie warned Eileen not to leave the tent, she panicked and began running away. She made it a few steps and dodged several curses before she was struck down.

Charlie didn't have time to think, only react. He was an experienced warrior, and was able to parry and defend himself. He was hoping to get to a point where he could disapparate, but the wizards wouldn't lighten up. They were relentless. Charlie didn't have time to look around to see if Ares was with them. He didn't think he was. Whatever the woman gave him, he figured, had to be protected. He must have been confident that his soldiers could take care of Charlie.

Charlie was grateful the soldiers were inexperienced because he lasted a lot longer than he would have expected with a seasoned army. He was finally down to the last five wizards. He prayed there were none waiting behind the boulders, but so far none came out of the shadows.

He fought hard and long, and the last five were beginning to tire. Soon, he thought, he should be able to get away. He threw several rapid-fire curses at each of the men as they dodged them. Two of the wizards were hit directly with his powerful dragon-stunning spell. _Three to go!_

The three wizards who were fighting close together moved apart and started an offense that made Charlie step up his defenses. He was getting tired, but knew if he quit, he was dead. He saw the opportunity and took advantage of one of the wizards who had tripped, and hit him hard with the same stunning spell, but at the same time, Charlie was hit. He was thrown back and hit his head on a large rock. The last thing he saw before he lost consciousness were two wizards cautiously approaching him with their wands down. He quickly cursed both of them and passed out.


	4. Chapter 4 The Army of the Righteous

_Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling_

Chapter 4—The Army of the Righteous

Charlie was aware of shadow and movement. His head hurt and so did his chest. He was hit with powerful curse straight in the chest, which knocked him back and he hit his head on a rock. He wasn't sure what he would find if he opened his eyes; probably the bad guys, he thought ruefully.

A shaking hand touched his shoulder tentatively. "Charlie?" It was a woman's voice.

Opening his eyes, his vision was blurry for a second, but he saw a figure leaning over him. It was Eileen Parker. Tears stained her cheeks and she shook uncontrollably. When Charlie opened his eyes, Eileen burst into tears and sobbed into his chest. He put his hand on her back and patted her awkwardly, trying to reassure her.

"It's okay," he comforted. He didn't know what else to say.

Eileen's arms and face were battered and bruised. She had a long cut above her eye. "I thought you were dead. That poor dear boy is dead." She said.

"What about Wolfgang?" he asked, trying to get up. He leaned on his elbows. He couldn't see the researcher anywhere.

"I don't know. I don't know where he is." She wiped her eyes with her shaking hand. "Charlie, what was that? What happened?"

She didn't understand about dark wizards. How could he explain something she didn't understand? Americans only recently discovered the existence of dark magic, and most of them hadn't had it touch their lives. It wasn't a concept that they could wrap their heads around.

"Dark wizards, Eileen. It's a war and we'd better get ready for it." He said, standing up. He dusted the dirt from his hands and off his trousers.

Charlie found his wand and produced a patronus message, which he sent to his friend Travis in Austin, letting him know what had just happened. He knew that Travis would alert the Department of Magic and call The Society into action.

The Auror Division was becoming more effective in locating dark wizards, but it was the secret society formed by Travis and two others, The Society of Fred, named in honor of Charlie's brother, Fred Weasley, who was killed by Death Eaters that had more combat experience than all the Aurors put together and had sworn to fight the evil that was invading America.

Charlie knew that Ares had raised an army and had made a pact with a demon to supply a supernatural army. This meant actual combat. He thought Ares meant to battle the Society literally. He was ready to fight, but was the Society?

"We have to get back to the Preserve. Can you fly?" he asked her, gently wiping the blood from her face.

Clearly, Eileen was still in shock, but Charlie didn't have time to wait until she felt like she could travel. They needed to get out of there before the army returned with reinforcements.

The bodies of the dead and wounded soldiers lay where they fell. There were twenty dead or dying. Suddenly, each of the soldiers burst into flames, even the ones who were only wounded. Their screams filled the night until they were silent. Eileen watched in horror as the bodies turned into ash and blew away.

_What kind of sick fuck destroys his own men_, Charlie wondered as the wind carried the ashes away. S_omeone who could call up an army of demons; someone who had an infinite army,_ he thought.

Charlie didn't know much, but he didn't believe Ares was as powerful as Voldemort had been when he was in power, but he knew how to recruit willing and probably unwilling souls. He figured he had recruited at least one more witch to help him. His main recruiting tool before was the very sexy Muireann. What he didn't know was why Ares let him live. No doubt he wanted to torture Charlie and killing him right away would spoil his fun.

Charlie walked around the camp site carefully, looking for Wolfgang. Finally, he spotted him at the bottom of a ravine. There was no way anyone could have survived the fall, but flew down to find out for himself. Unbelievably, the man was still breathing, but just barely. He was unconscious and would probably die within the hour. Charlie had to get him back to the preserve.

He fashioned a carrier, similar to the ones the wranglers used to haul dragons. He and Eileen would strap the carrier to their brooms and fly him across the desert. The trip would be long and very difficult, because any unnecessary movement would cause Wolfgang more pain. Charlie didn't know if he could survive the trip, but at least they needed to try.

Eileen cried when Charlie told her they had to leave Dustin's body behind. She told Charlie that Dustin's mother would want him returned.

"I can't argue with that," Charlie said. "But we can't do it now. We'll come back. I promise. But there's a chance Wolfgang will survive if we get him back."

Suddenly Charlie heard a noise behind him. He spun around and saw to his amazement, Ricardo Sanchez and a number of Mexican wizards. Ricardo walked up to him hesitantly.

"Charlie! Amigo! Are you all right?" He asked, assessing the situation.

"We were attacked by Ares's men. Who are your friends?" he asked nodding to the men and women who stood behind Ricardo.

"This is E_l Ejército de la Justa;_ The Army of the Righteous. Trained warriors who have been guarding the domain for centuries, waiting, ready. We knew war was eminent because there were so many signs." Ricardo looked at the expression on Charlie's face and smiled. "What? You think you're the only one who gets to fight dark wizards?" He shook his head sadly. "I just wish we had gotten here sooner."

"Dustin's dead," Charlie said. "And Wolfgang's badly wounded. We were about to fly out of here."

"Not a good idea. You'd be flying directly over Ares and his armies." Ricardo said. He motioned for two of the men to take the carrier from Charlie and Eileen. The men examined Wolfgang, then looked at Ricardo and shook their heads. "I don't think he'd let you live this time. I'm actually kind of surprised you're alive," he said, a little suspiciously.

"It's really me, Boo," he said. "I'm not imperiused or possessed."

Ricardo shrugged. "No offense." He said. "Why didn't he kill you?"

Charlie shook his head. "I have no idea, but I figure he's got something else in mind; after all I did kill Muireann and his three stooges. I'm sure he'd prefer I suffered a lot before he kills me."

"Do you know much about Ares?" Ricardo asked.

Again Charlie shook his head. "I don't even know who he really is. All I know is that Lord Voldemort sent him away right before his death. Lord Voldemort some big plan for world domination. Ares had all this time to plan the takeover of America. He wasn't prepared the first time. Now I think he's ready. I saw him talking to," he shrugged, thinking of the right word to describe what he saw earlier. "Something supernatural, who agreed to supply him with an army. I don't know who she is, but I'm guessing some kind of demon."

"Oh, shit," said Ricardo and the men around him nodded. "There are actually two of them. One isn't so bad; but the other one, Ramorphus…" He looked at Charlie. "She didn't happen have to have two big ugly dogs with her, did she?"

Charlie nodded slowly.

"Fuck." Ricardo studied the ground. "We can stop it here if we fight them in the desert. We can destroy them before they can hurt innocent people. Charlie, this army needs a leader, someone with real combat experience." Ricardo looked at him, "Will you join us?"


	5. Chapter 5 Saying Goodbye

_Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling_

Chapter 5—Saying Good-bye

Charlie looked into the eyes of the people standing before him. Ricardo crossed his arms across his chest and waited. No one spoke.

Charlie cleared his throat before he spoke. He didn't hesitate. "Of course I want to join you, but not as a leader. I'm a warrior. And, I need to clear up a few things at home. Is there time for that? I need a couple of days." Charlie spoke deliberately.

Ricardo raised an eyebrow significantly. Charlie, he reasoned, was exactly the leader this group needed. He would convince him later. E_l Ejército de la Justa _had been existence for centuries, but this group had not experienced combat and the leaders were as ignorant of real life action as the rest of the men.

Charlie wanted to say good-bye to some friends. He had no idea how long he would be fighting in the desert, and he didn't want his friends to think he fell off the face of the earth. He also thought that by his going away for a while, he would be protecting the people he loved. Ares would come for the people he loved to bring him out of hiding, but if Ares knew exactly where he was and what he was doing, Charlie figured Ares would leave them alone. It wasn't his best idea in the world but he thought it was his most feasible option.

"I need to get Wolfgang and Miss Parker back to the preserve," he said.

"Wolfgang's one of ours," Ricardo said. "We'll take care of him. I'll help you take the dragon eggs and Eileen back to the preserve. And of course, take the time you need. We understand."

Charlie motioned to Ricardo and they moved into a clearing away from the rest. He didn't want to speak around Eileen. As far as Charlie knew, Eileen was an innocent and he didn't want to put her life in jeopardy if she heard too much.

"Wolfgang told me he didn't know the killing curse. Is that right?" Charlie asked. If Wolfgang was a soldier, why didn't he know the killing curse?

"He didn't. He wasn't a fighter. He gathered intelligence. He let us know about the changes in the domain and that Ares was congregating his wizard army here. He also knew about the deal Ares made with one of the demons. We didn't know until today which demon that was."

Charlie nodded, understanding. "How much time do you think we have?" he asked. "Before Ares will attack? Do you really believe we can keep the fight in the desert?"

Ricardo shrugged. "We hope so. We're going to give it our best shot. I know that your Society of Fred is prepared to fight, but let's hope we can defeat them before it gets to that point. Now that he has his demon army, I think he'll come after us in force within the next two weeks. We want to be on the offensive, not the defensive. Most of our defensive army is along the border." He smiled. "When you come back, we'll discuss the strategy." He looked pointedly at Eileen.

Charlie understood. "Are you sure you don't want to get Wolfgang out of here?"

"We have healers here." Ricardo was adamant. "We like to keep our operation a secret. You'll have to use your charm on Eileen, literally. I know you have a great memory charm."

"Don't you think it's a little late for that? Pretty soon it's going to become apparent that _something's_ going on. What do I tell her?"

Ricardo shrugged. "I don't know. Rock slide? Earthquake? You're the clever one."

"Everyone's going to take one look at Dustin and figure out he was killed by a killing curse, not a fucking rock slide. I promised Eileen I'd bring his body back. Fuck it." Charlie said, harshly. He rubbed his forehead thoughtfully. "I guess we can make it sound convincing enough." He sighed audibly.

"_Si_, and say that you couldn't recover Wolfgang's body. Easy, no?" Ricardo was smiling.

Charlie rolled his eyes and shook his head. It was a lost cause. He didn't understand why they didn't want to return Wolfgang. The healers at the preserve might be able to save his life. Now he was just hanging on by the smallest of threads. Ricardo directed some of the men to take him away.

Richard and Charlie put their heads together for the memory charm. The idea of a rock slide worked well; it happened in the dead of night without warning, it destroyed the equipment except for the fire box that was kept in Eileen's tent. Dustin was struck once in the chest with a huge boulder but it didn't leave a mark. It looked like he was sleeping, which is why they were shocked to discover him dead. For all they knew Wolfgang was under tons of rock, they couldn't find his body. Ricardo came by because he heard the rumbling, knew the census and harvesters were in the area (he was on patrol duty) and wanted to investigate. By some miracle, neither Charlie nor Eileen was seriously hurt. They talked about whether to wait until daylight. That made more sense, but Charlie wanted to get Eileen back to safety. There was always a chance that Ares's men would come back.

They finally decided to wait until morning. Charlie needed to find out all about E_l Ejército de la Justa_ and what exactly their mission was. He hoped that he was doing the right thing joining them, but the Society was more than capable to fight without him. He needed to be on the front lines of battle. He would never have spoken of it to anyone, but his greatest regret in life was not being present at the beginning of the Battle of Hogwarts. He thought maybe he could have saved his brother's life. He would have gladly given his life for Fred and the others who died, but he was too late. He felt the same way when he was unable to save Diane's life from Ares the first time he battled him. Charlie vowed that he would never be too late again.

The hour was very late; Charlie guessed it would be daylight in a couple of hours. Eileen was given a sleeping potion, which would help her sleep and would help Charlie and Ricardo with the memory charm they were planning to use before they left for the preserve. It had been a very long day.

Ricardo had brought only a portion of the army with him. Their headquarters was further away in another part of the mountains, in an area totally isolated. When Charlie and the others apparated to the bivouac, he was amazed at the size of the camp and the number of wizards in the army. He thought maybe there would have been a few hundred, but it seemed more like several thousand. Where had all these people come from?

Ricardo spent the next three hours discussing strategy and the operation of the camp and of the army. He pointed out which company needed the most work and which had adequate commanders. He was very subtle in pitching the idea of Charlie becoming a commander. He let Charlie know in no uncertain terms that his experience and leadership qualities were what the army needed to succeed again the wizard force of Ares and whatever armada Ramorphus had supplied.

Not only did E_l Ejército de la Justa_ use magic, they also had used an arsenal full of charmed traditional weapons. Each company had their own specialties, for example, there was a platoon or archers and weapons that resembled muggle light anti-tank weapons, which could be used in connection with a spell that just _might _take down a demon or a giant for that matter. It was good to see that the army didn't rely exclusively on their wands.

Ricardo told Charlie that when he returned he'd get the full tour and a demonstration of the army's capabilities. Ricardo was confident that with the right leadership, the Army of the Righteous would prevail.

Charlie barely got to sleep when it was time for him to get up. He was excited about the prospect of joining a real fight. He was ready.

After a typical mess hall breakfast, Charlie, Ricardo, Eileen, took off toward the Preserve. They carried a sling between Ricardo and Charlie with Dustin's body. Eileen, who had already be jinxed with a very powerful memory charm the evening before, was responsible for the fire box full of dragon eggs. Ricardo and Charlie discussed their strategy in hushed tones. Eileen remained completely clueless. She was mourning Dustin and Wolfgang.

Remarkably, Wolfgang was quickly on the mend. He regained consciousness and the healers felt he would make a full recovery. He was told he would be staying in the camp. That suited him just fine, he told everyone. He might go more deeply undercover now that the preserve thought he was dead.

Ricardo and Charlie were flying close together, but behind Eileen and the fire box. They wanted to make sure she wasn't going to do something stupid. She was still hysterical over the deaths of Wolfgang and Dustin and her near miss with a five ton boulder, but she felt good about her single-handedly saving the fire box and the six precious dragon eggs when Charlie was unable to.

Ricardo looked at Charlie and grinned. "So, are you going to ask me about my date with Camilla?" he said lightly.

The grim look on Charlie's face disappeared, and was replaced with a huge grin. He shook his head. Levity was just what he needed right now. He had a lot on his mind lately, and it involved his future and the future of American wizards.

"I'm too much of a gentleman," he said, tilting his nose in the air, haughtily. "But I'm sure my name came up, maybe at an inappropriate moment?"

Ricardo's burst of laughter scared a flock of birds that were flying next to them. "Actually," he said, trying to wipe the grin off his face, "I seem to recollect hearing a combination of your name and _un ojete_ _in_ the same sentence, along with, hmm, yep, the words '_un_ _poco chile_." His head nodding in an exaggerated manner.

"_Chinga tu madra_." He said good naturedly, flipping him off.

Their banter lightened the mood, and Charlie was able to think about his future in a positive way. He knew there was a good possibility that he could be killed in a battle, but he couldn't dwell on that. Dying came with the territory. His only concern with dying was what it would do to his mother. She had already lost one son and seen another maimed by dark magic. The loss of Charlie, who had always been secretly her favorite child, would be devastating. At least he lived so far away, he thought, maybe it wouldn't be so hard on her. The idea of hurting his mother worried him more than the prospect of being killed.

He made a mental list of the people he needed to see before he joined Ricardo's army. He needed a leave of absence from the preserve and he had to see Travis in Austin, Joanna and Jordan Kingsley, Coach Popov, in case he didn't make it back in time for Quidditch training camp, and, of course, he had to see Jessica one last time.

When they reached the Preserve, management had already been alerted that they were bringing Dustin's body. Charlie sent a patronus message the night before alerting them to the accident. Ricardo was also going to tell his boss he was leaving. He would probably be fired, but that was the way it had to be.

The story held up, of course, but the preserve's director, Daniel Schleif was upset, to say the least, that two of their best wranglers were leaving without notice. It was not a pleasant scene. Neither gave a good explanation of why they were leaving, but Schleif got the idea they were in this together and were going on some fun and probably drunken adventure. Schleif was afraid that Ricardo (whom he was afraid of, anyway) had talked Charlie into becoming a bandito or a pirate. They left the man to think what he wanted to.

Next, Charlie and Ricardo went to see Travis. Travis had already alerted the Society to action, and his house was filled with Society members, ready for action. Jordan was there, but he had talked his wife, Joanna, in staying home. Someone had to stay with their baby. Jordan and Travis were relieved when Charlie apparated at Travis's back door.

The number of Society of Fred members had swelled to over a hundred. Travis and the two Tex's had recruited young witches and wizards and there were branches all over America. A representative from each branch were present and were waiting on an update.

The only member, other than Joanna, not present was Amanda, Travis's sister. She worked for the Department of Magic in the Auror Division. Travis told Charlie that the Aurors had their own operation and the Society was working with them.

Charlie and Ricardo briefed everyone there on the threat and Ricardo explained that Ares had enlisted the help of a very dangerous demon by the name of Ramorphus. Ramorphus had handed over her whole army to Ares in exchange for his soul and all the area he conquered. The demon army was strong, but Ricardo felt, not indestructible. There was a possibility that the second demon, Zephas, could be persuaded to fight Ramorphus's army.

Charlie described Ares's wizard army. They were better trained than his last army, and they were more loyal, but, Charlie told confidently, they weren't very good fighters. Ricardo told the group that Charlie had battled 20 by himself. Charlie nodded, but was quick to tell them that Dustin and Wolfgang both had fought them. The thing that bothered Charlie the most was that they wouldn't be able to take prisoners because once one of Ares's men were down, either wounded or killed, they were destroyed.

Travis said that might be an advantage once the wizard army found out there were no casualties, there may be more defections. Charlie argued that Ares couldn't afford to kill off all his soldiers, even with a demon army waiting in the wings.

The co-director of the Auror Division, Gertrudis Guerro, showed up later and gave Travis, Charlie and Ricardo a declassified briefing on dark magic activity within the past four weeks. There were an increasing amount of violence against muggles and odd weather phenomena, which the Division blamed on dark magic. The muggle president hadn't been alerted—yet. There had also been a large number of disappearances at first thought to be coincidence, but now believed to be connected with the return of Ares.

After the briefing, Charlie sought out Jordan. He was surprised to learn that he and Joanna and the baby had recently re-settled in Austin and Joanna was expecting Charlie for dinner. Charlie was looking forward to seeing Joanna. He needed to say good-bye to her. Joanna and Jordan were another pair that Charlie wanted to protect. It would kill him if anything happened to either one of them. He loved Joanna like a sister and he was godfather to their daughter, Kayleigh.

Jordan and Charlie apparated to the Kingsley's back door. The kitchen was dark, but there was a light on in the front room. The minute Jordan turned the door knob, Joanna leapt into the kitchen and into Charlie's arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. She looked so relieved to see him alive. Jordan moved out of her way. He understood their relationship better than any one else and took no offense at her leaping into another man's arms. Joanna kissed him soundly. She looked like she had been crying, but her face lightened into the biggest smile.

"I was so worried about you, you asshole," she said, hitting Charlie hard in the chest. "You could have _died _out there in the fucking desert. What is wrong with you?"

"I'm fine, Joanna," Charlie said, kissing the top of her head. "Damn woman, are you pregnant again? You weigh a ton."

"Fuck you," she said, unwrapping her legs from his waist and slipping to the floor. "I'm at my pre-baby weight, you prick." She hugged him again. "I'm so glad you're here. Are you hungry?"

Charlie grinned as he nodded. God, he'd missed her.

"While I cannot personally cook, I have arranged a delicious feast for your enjoyment compliments of the renowned chef, Colonel Sanders. I hope you like chicken. We've discovered the joys of muggle-food take out. Sit down while I serve you." Jordan busied himself getting down plates and silverware, while Joanna emptied the bucket of chicken and sides onto their plates.

"Where's my goddaughter?" Charlie asked, opening a bottle of wine.

"Asleep finally," Joanna said, her eyes softened at the mention of her daughter. "Guess what our little genius is doing now?" She didn't let him answer. "She can animate her baby toys. She lines them up in perfect little rows and makes them dance around."

Charlie said, "Wow, that's advanced."

Jordan swelled with pride. "And she happens to be the cutest baby in the whole wide world. Looks just like her mommy." Jordan gave Joanna a look of pure desire and kissed her. Their kiss deepened and became extremely passionate. He picked her up and started to push her on top of the kitchen table.

Charlie cleared his throat discreetly. "You guys need a moment?" He asked.

Jordan looked up sheepishly. "Sorry. She still does it to me." He straightened Joanna's blouse that he had started to unbutton. Joanna smoothed down her hair and flushed.

The dinner was full of delightful conversation, mostly about Kayleigh. They seemed to be avoiding anything negative.

Charlie knew he needed to tell them about his joining the desert army, but he couldn't bring himself to tell them. They knew that Ares had attacked him, but Joanna didn't know he was going away.

After dinner, they went into the living room. Charlie remained standing as Joanna and Jordan sat together on the comfortable sofa. They held hands while they sat together. For a moment, he thought about Jessica.

"Well, children," he started out on an up beat. "I have good news and bad news."

Joanna looked at him curiously.

"Which do you want first?" he asked. Their looks made him nervous. He rubbed his hands together.

"Bad news," Joanna said, sitting up. She closed her eyes, knowing what he was about to say.

"Okay. Bad news I might not be back for Quidditch season." He hurriedly added. "The good news is I'm going to be fighting dark wizards in the real war in the desert."

Joanna and Jordan stood up together. "_What_?"

He nodded and smiled at them both. "Yep, I've joined an army."

"What the fuck, Weasley?" Joanna yelled. "What about the Society? They need you. We need you! You're Kayleigh's godfather, for fuck's sakes. You can't run off like that. You have specific responsibilities. You could get yourself killed, and then what would Kayleigh do?" Joanna sobbed. "What would I do?" she said softly.

"Joanna," he said quietly. "You know me better than anyone else in the world. How could I not go? I have to. You understand that, don't you?"

"No," she said quietly. "Yes. But you have to come back."

"I plan to. I know what I'm doing and this is what I want. I just came by because I couldn't leave without seeing you. I'll be all right."

They were quiet for the rest of the evening. Joanna did understand; Charlie was right about her, but she didn't want to think about a world without her dearest friend. She knew she would feel the same way if Jordan made the same decision.

Finally, Charlie put down his glass and stood up. "I have to go."

"Will we see you before you leave?" Jordan asked.

He nodded. "Absolutely. I have some other things to do. I should be back in a couple of days."

Joanna hugged him. "I love you. Stay safe, please."

"I love you, too. And don't be such a pussy." Charlie hugged her back and hugged Jordan. "Take care of her and your little one for me. I'll see you in a couple of days."

He went out the back door and disapparated.


	6. Chapter 6 The Last Goodbye

**A/N: Here's the warning for adult content. **

_Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling_

Chapter 6- The Last Good-bye

Ricardo and Charlie planned to spend the night at Travis's house. Amanda came in much later and Charlie was happy to see that she had broken up with her latest boyfriend, Cyrus Ballard, a real prick, in Charlie's humble opinion and she was now dating a fellow Auror, whose name Charlie couldn't remember. It didn't matter. Amanda was as bad as he staying in relationships. It was good seeing her again.

Charlie stayed in his old room and Ricardo slept in the guest bedroom. The house was still crowded with people, but Travis always managed to have enough food and enough comfortable places to sleep. Charlie needed some quiet time. He went to bed early and sat down and wrote a long letter to his parents. He tried not to sound pessimistic, because he knew his mum would know something was going on. They were very perceptive. He decided before he finished the letter that he was going to tell them everything. It was better if they knew why he had chosen to join the fighting in the desert. He tried to explain everything plainly, leaving out the part about regretting not being there for Fred and Lupin, and his dear friend Tonks. His parents would understand his spirit and desire for adventure. That was who he was.

He promised he would visit them at the first opportunity, but told them it may be several months, or even a year before he could get away. He had no idea how long the fighting would last, but he was confident the army would be victorious.

He told them he loved them and thanked them for instilling the qualities in him that made him the way he was. He apologized for causing them grief, especially when he was bad. He didn't want his behavior to embarrass them. He was happy with the way his life was turning out and he loved living in America. He hoped they understood.

He ended the letter with a cheery, "Give my love to everyone. I will see you soon. Love, your son, Charlie."

Next Charlie wrote a letter to Dmitri Popov, his Quidditch coach. He knew the Popov would understand what he was doing more than anyone else. The letter was short, just a few lines advising the coach that he may not be back in time for Quidditch training camp this season. There were still a couple of months until he had to report, but he doubted seriously that he would be back. He thought about who would replace him, praying that it wasn't that dickhead Ryan Smith, the second team's seeker. He didn't feel he had any right to voice his opinion regarding his replacement, since he was leaving _them, _so he kept his thoughts to himself. He would deal with the team's owners when he got back. They, he was sure, wouldn't understand.

The last letter Charlie wrote was to his friend Heather, who attended the Salem School for Young Witches and Wizards in Salem, Massachusetts. He promised to attend her graduation this year, so he explained that he may not be back in time. He did not tell her why. He didn't see any point in upsetting her. He wished her the best of luck and told her she had great potential as a writer and not to give up that dream. He had spoken to the editor of the American Daily Prophet and recommended her for a job after graduation as a reporter. He had also sent up a scholarship fund for her if she wanted to further her education. He kept the scholarship a secret and made the school promise to tell her she had won the scholarship if she wanted to attend.

He wrote to Gringott's of America and instructed them to divide his gold between his parents, Joanna and Jordan Kingsley for Kayleigh, in case something happened to him. The gold for Kayleigh should be put in a trust for her education. The last part of his gold was to be used for a program to encourage wizarding families to send their children to wizarding schools and not have them home schooled, which was the norm in America. Wizarding children needed a quality education and the traditions shouldn't be lost, he wrote.

Charlie decided that when he got back, he would try his hand at teaching. He knew that the head administrator at the SSYWW would gladly give him a job and he could always coach little league Quidditch.

The last person he was going to see was Jessica. Their relationship was delicate at best. He was glad they were back together, but he realized there was no future for them. They were from two different worlds and he couldn't expect her to understand why he had to do what he had to do. It would be better to break it off now while they were still new. He thought she would understand. But he couldn't write it in a letter. He had to tell her in person and he was dreading that because he didn't want to break it off. Despite himself, he loved her more than he had ever loved another woman.

He looked at the time; it was still early enough for him to visit her tonight. She stayed up late. She was an artist and often complained that the muses visited her more often late at night. Charlie sent his letters by Travis's owl and then told Travis where he was going.

"Will you be back tonight?" a concerned Travis asked.

"I don't know. Don't worry. Give my bed to someone else. I'll find a place to sleep if I do come back. I'll see you." He said and disapparated.

Charlie was standing in front of Jessica's door. She had decorated it by hand painting a realistic looking wreath. He knocked on the door and waited patiently for Jessica to answer the door. When she opened the door, her face broke out into a wide grin.

"Charlie!" she said happily. "I wasn't expecting you." She pulled him inside, closed the door and kissed him, moving her hands up and down his back, pulling him into her. He kissed her passionately, his hands in her hair. She moaned his name as passion rose.

"God, I've missed you," she said in between kisses. She kissed his ear and his neck. "I don't think I can wait another minute," she said struggling with his shirt. She pushed him down on the floor and pulled her shirt over her head as she straddled him. Her impatient hands helped him shed his clothes between kisses. Her hands were on him and she guided him into her. She slowed her rhythm, savoring the feel of him deep inside her. Her eyes were closed and her breathing quickened. She smiled cat-like and Charlie watched as she pulled her hands through her long hair, then caressing her breasts, her hips matching his rhythm. Her arms wrapped around his neck when he sat up, his hands controlling the thrust of his hips. The look on her face was concentrated pure pleasure. She held him tighter as her passion mounted, her breath coming out in short gasps. She cried out as she tensed her body. She opened her eyes and looked into his as he exploded inside her, holding her tighter to him. He had wanted to take it slow with her, but she was too impatient. He kissed her as she relaxed on top of him and held her as their breathing returned to normal.

She leaned in inches away from his mouth "Wow," she mouthed and giggled. She licked her lips and arched her body. "I don't want to move, but I'm getting a cramp."

Charlie lay back down on the carpet and grinned. "I don't want to move, either." He shifted positions and she slid off him, and she began kneading the knot out of her calf. Charlie leaned back against Jessica's sofa and helped her by massaging the calf. "Damn, that's tight," he said.

"Tell me about it. Ow!" she winced.

Charlie kissed her again. "Maybe you should walk it out." He said helpfully.

"No, I'm fine now. More than fine." She kissed him and reached over him for her shirt, pulling it over her head. "It's cold in here. Are you cold?" she asked. She got up and put on a light robe.

"Not even close. I'm burning up." He reached for his trousers and pulled them on just as her cell phone began to ring. She grabbed the phone off the coffee table.

"Damn!" she said, looking at the caller ID number. "I was supposed to meet some friends tonight. Oh well."

"Do you need to go?" he asked standing up, shrugging on his shirt.

She shook her head. "No, but I should let them know I'm not going to make it." She punched a button on the phone. "Hi," she said cheerily. "No, no, I'm all right. But a friend of mine stopped in from out of town and I'm going to spend the evening with him." She got quiet. "Yes," she said glancing at him, "it is. I'll call you tomorrow. Sorry to bail. I knew you'd understand. Bye. Okay, I will. Bye." She punched another button and threw her phone back on the table. "Are you hungry?"

Charlie shook his head. "No, I ate earlier. Are you?"

"Ravenous. Can you stay the night?" she asked coyly.

"Sure. If you'd like me to." He said. He had forgotten why he came. "But I don't want you to change your plans because of me."

"Don't be silly, Charlie. Of course I'd rather be with you. We don't get to see each other that often."

"You kind of caught me off guard at the door," he said.

She blushed and smiled. "Surprised me, too. I guess I did get a little carried away. Do you mind?"

"God, no," he said reassuring her. "It's just that I didn't protect you."

At first she didn't understand what he meant, then she said, "Oh. It's okay, don't worry about it. I have it covered." She smiled and kissed him. "That's very sweet of you."

They went into the kitchen where Jessica fixed herself a sandwich. He watched her eat.

"Are you okay, Charlie?" she asked taking a drink from the glass of milk she poured.

He nodded. "I just needed to see you. I'm going away from a while, maybe longer than I'm usually gone."

"Quidditch?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Something else." He was deciding what he wanted to tell her. Jessica didn't understand much about the wizard world. They kept that separate. He came to her world when he needed to see her.

"Oh." Was all she said. She chewed her sandwich carefully. "Are you getting married or anything I need to know about?" She asked casually.

Charlie snorted, trying to suppress a laugh. "Hell no. Where'd you ever get that idea?"

She shrugged, feeling a little silly. "I don't know, you just sounded a little final like I'd never see you again."

"Honey, to be honest with you, the only person I've ever thought about marrying is you. And you know me and marriage" He walked around her and grabbed her from behind, wrapping his arms tightly around her. He kissed the top of her head. "No, baby, there's no one but you. Sorry if I spooked you."

She turned around and looked at him strangely. "You thought about marrying me?" She asked, quietly.

"The idea crossed my mind a time or two. Why? Does that freak you out?" He asked, suddenly serious. What was he thinking? Why couldn't he keep his mouth shut?

"We're just so," she struggled for the right word. "Different."

He laughed. "That's an understatement."

"And you've never thought about marrying anyone but me?"

"Nope. Well, I did want to marry one of my DADA teachers at Hogwarts School once, but I was more in heat than in love." He laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

She finally laughed, snapping out of her mood. She washed her glass and set it back in the cabinet. She fished two bottles of beers out of the refrigerator and handed him one. "God, look at the time," she said. It was almost 1 am. "I need some sleep."

They finished their beers in the bedroom and they made love again, this time taking their time. Afterward, while Jessica slept, Charlie took a shower. As the hot water sluiced over him, clearing out his brain, he went over the idea of marriage. He never thought he'd even think about getting married seriously anyway. But he had thought about marrying Jessica at one time. On the other hand, he liked his freedom too much and he couldn't stay faithful. He would cheat on her; he couldn't possibly make her happy. He was a wizard for God's sake and she _wasn't_.

Besides this was _not_ the time in his life to be making forever-after plans. That would just be cruel.

Charlie wrapped a big fluffy pink towel around his waist and blow-dried his hair. It was very thick and getting wiry. He did need a haircut. He looked in the mirror at his body. So many scars and burns; a bullet hole. He'd been through a lot and now he was going to face a lot more. He prayed he was ready.

He lay down next to Jessica and she automatically snuggled up next to him. She sighed contentedly. She said his name in her sleep. He put his mouth next to her ear.

"Jessica," he whispered. He repeated her name. Slowly she opened her eyes and smiled.

"Hey," she said. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. I have to leave in a few hours and I just wanted to tell you that I love you."

Her smile was bigger. "I love you, too, Charlie." He kissed her sweetly.

"And when I get back, I thought," he hesitated. "That you and I can talk about, uh,"

"What?" She furrowed her brow. She touched his face. He was sweating. "Charlie?"

He cleared his throat. He took her hand. "I thought that we could talk about, uh, you and me, maybe getting married."


	7. Chapter 7 The Patrol

_Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling_

Chapter 7—The Patrol

The idea of being totally prepared for whatever was going to happen did not make him edgy or think the worst; it made it seem more grown up. Five years ago, he would have jumped into battle or anything dangerous for that matter without being prepared for the consequences. Of course, five years ago, Charlie hadn't accumulated the wealth that he had now, either. Nor had he accumulated the number of friends or responsibilities. He smiled to himself. Molly Weasley's baby boy had finally grown up.

Charlie drifted off to sleep into a dreamless calm. A light woke him up and he realized the morning sun was peering through the drawn curtains. Jessica was gone, but the bathroom light was on. Charlie stretched and jumped up. He dressed quickly and went into the kitchen. Jessica had already made coffee, bless her.

It was getting late and Charlie had to go. He called to her when he heard the bathroom door open. Jessica walked into the kitchen; her wet hair wrapped in a towel.

"I have to go now," he said kissing her.

"I know," she said quietly. "Hurry back. And, please, _be careful."_

He grinned. "You know it." He grabbed her and kissed her again. "It daylight, so I have to—"

She understood. He had to disapparate inside the apartment to avoid the possibility of being seen. He walked back into the bedroom. Jessica heard a loud crack, and he was gone.

Charlie apparated back at Travis's back door. As usual Travis was in the kitchen cooking for everyone. Someone Charlie didn't know was seated at the breakfast bar, talking animatedly to Travis. Travis was laughing. When Charlie walked in, the young man looked up at Charlie and blushed. Travis turned around and looked at Charlie. He smiled broadly.

"There you are. Did you see your girlfriend? Are you hungry?" He said cheerfully.

Charlie nodded. He looked at the young man, who seemed to know him.

"Oh, how rude of me," Travis said. "Charlie, this is my friend, Curtis. Curtis, this is Charlie Weasley." Charlie shook his hand.

"Curtis is one of our newest recruits. He's an assistant healer." Travis explained.

"Nice to meet you," Charlie said. "Has Ricardo been down yet?" he asked as Travis scooped out a portion of eggs and chorizo for Charlie. Travis pointed to a tortilla warmer and Charlie got out two flour tortillas. He sat next to Curtis to eat.

Travis nodded. "Last time I saw him, he was talking to Gertrudis. Ah, speaking of the devil," he said enthusiastically, as Ricardo walked through the door into the kitchen.

. "Amigo!" Boo said.

Charlie put the burrito he'd just made back in his plate and shook hands with Ricardo. Travis handed Boo a plate and he sat on the other side of Curtis.

"Best night's sleep I've had in a long time," said Ricardo. "I appreciate your hospitality. I don't know how you can accommodate so many people."

"Thank you," Travis said, beaming.

"Are there any more briefings this morning before we head out?" Charlie asked.

"No, after we get back to the desert and can better assess our situation, we're going to have periodic updates. Travis and I were working over the details last night."

Charlie nodded as he chewed his breakfast. When he was finished he magicked his plate and coffee cup into the dishwasher. He looked at the time and said, "I need to say good-bye to Joanna. I told her I'd see her before we left."

"You're ready to go today?" asked Ricardo. "We can stay another day, if you need to."

Charlie shook his head. "No, we can see Mike and the rest on the way out. I doubt that management wants to see us right now. Mike's probably working today. That'll be the best place to see him."

"Sure," Ricardo said. "I'm ready when you are."

The final farewell to Joanna was more tearful than Charlie was prepared for. She tried to be upbeat, but Charlie could see she was very upset. He promised he'd write (something they both knew was a lie). He kissed her and Kayleigh good-bye. He didn't tell her about the arrangements he'd made with Gringott's Bank of America; he figured that would just upset her more.

Charlie was right. Mike, Jack, & Pete were working when they flew into the preserve. Charlie had never made a secret out of his commitment to fighting dark magic, but he wasn't exactly sure how much he should tell his friends. Mike already knew that he was leaving because Jessica called Lindsey, his wife, right after Charlie left that morning.

"Magic has nothing on a couple of females," Mike remarked. Charlie agreed.

"Lindsey expects me to find out where you're going so she can tell Jessica. I won't say a word," Mike said as they said their good-byes.

"I appreciate that," he said. "I'll talk to you when I can."

"Be careful." Mike said, shaking his hand.

Ricardo and Charlie flew back to the main camp site where the main army was camped. They met with all the officers and discussed what they had learned from Travis and the Department of Magic. The Society was working with the Auror Division. They would act as a second front in case Ares moved into the cities. They had a good strategy beginning with education and more recruitment. Now that the Department of Magic finally acknowledged the possibility of dark wizards' infiltration into an otherwise ignorant wizard population, measures were being stepped up to ensure that more wizards became educated.

Ares had not made a move to fight the growing army in the desert, but Charlie knew it was only a matter of time. He believed that Ares would attack because he thought destroying the desert army would eliminate the threat and all of North America would be vulnerable to an all-out assault. Now that Ares had the demon army, he thought he was invincible. He was waiting for the right time to attack, and from the intelligence reports, they were sure the assault was imminent. If _el Ejército de la Justa_ could cut off the armies before they converged, then they believed Ares's army could be defeated.

Ricardo was still trying to convince Charlie to lead all the troops, but he finally talked him into leading a scouting platoon. The leader, Jesus Manuel Espinoza, was more than glad to hand over the reins of power. Jesus was a good officer, but he admitted that he had no real experience.

After the briefing, Jesus took Charlie to meet his men. One squad was getting ready to go on patrol and Charlie volunteered to go with them. There had received intelligence that a small group of wizard soldiers were going to raid a small village to get food, and this squad was going to try to cut them off.

"The last time Ares showed himself, he had recruited three vampires," Charlie explained to his men. "I don't know if he has any more, but they are pretty good fighters and can recruit very well. They are pretty hard to disarm, but I've had a lot of luck with the _Sectumsempra_spell." He demonstrated the spell. "It's a good idea to hit them with the spell a least three times to make sure they bleed out quickly. It also works quite well on non-vampires. It creates large slashes on the body. Kind of messy, but effective."

Charlie led the squad to the edge of the village that was supposed to be the target. He instructed the men to position themselves on the edge. Intelligence had reported a small band coming this way. They waited and before long, the point man spotted movement. The invading army had cloaked themselves in a disillusioning charm, but it wasn't that good. Any movement could be detected, although they could tell how many soldiers there were. Charlie told them to aim a spell at the front of the movement to disarm the disillusioning charm. He had six men aim and fire the spell at once, which they did, rendering the spell ineffective. After that, it was easy to pick off the soldiers before they realized they had been hit. There wasn't much of a battle; none of Charlie's men were hit, but there were several causalities on the other side. The battle lasted less than an hour. No one in the village was aware anything was going on.

As soon as Ares's men retreated, leaving their wounded behind them, Charlie's men wanted to follow them, but Charlie told them it would be better to stay there in case they came back. After a half hour, once again the casualties burst into flames. "Now," he said. "It's okay to leave."

The squad returned to the base camp. The adrenaline was still high. This was their first assault, and they had been successful. The men became more confident and optimistic. Charlie warned them that it was only the first battle; there was still a lot more dangers ahead.

"Tomorrow," he said. "We'll begin training. Stay alert. They might decide to attack us on our own ground. Good job, men. I'm proud of you."

Charlie returned to the main tent where Ricardo and the other leaders were waiting for him.

"Good news," he said. "One down, a thousand to go."


	8. Chapter 8 The Return of the Magician

_Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling_

Chapter 8-The Return of the Magician

For the next three weeks, Charlie trained with his new soldiers. He taught them every spell he could think of and some they made up as they went. Since their first encounter with the enemy had been successful, the soldiers were gaining in confidence. Charlie didn't want to break their spirit, but he also knew they had a long way to go.

He stressed the need to practice defensive tactics should they lose their wands. They trained with bows and arrows as well as shields and swords. He also considered using firearms, since they were the most effective weapon. Unfortunately, they didn't have any firearms, and honestly didn't know where to get them. He decided that he would contact Travis to see if he could get any assault rifles. It was worth a shot.

Hand-to-hand combat consisting mainly of defensive spells and defense with shields in case wands were lost. They drilled all day every day until Charlie thought they were ready. The intelligence was coming in daily from Wolfgang, whose recovery was nothing short of miraculous. He went out into the desert daily, acting as a dragon researcher. Charlie was very impressed with the job he was doing.

Squads were going out almost daily and had encountered only wizard soldiers, which were easily defeated. Charlie and the others had no idea when the demon army would be released, but they felt it was only weeks away.

They received almost daily reports from the Department of Magic and Travis for the Society. Travis said that Ares had enlisted more witches, like Muireann, who would entice young wizards to become soldiers. He didn't know how they were doing it when the Department of Magic was working over time getting information on the threats of dark magic.

Perhaps it was their youth that automatically made them rebellious against the old ways. America was relatively new and certainly in its adolescence; a time to try one's wings and fly away from the traditional and the old ways. The dream of unlimited power had to serve as an aphrodisiac to the youth who knew only what their parents had taught them. So easily seduced by power and sensuality were the youth; spoiled by parents who gave them everything they wanted, but nothing they needed.

Charlie became the leader by de facto. He had not asked for it, but he was the logical choice. He knew battle plans and he knew how to wage this war that was turning into a war of good versus evil. He had no idea what the demon army was capable of or when Ares would choose to use it. Every battle they fought, however, brought Charlie closer to finding out the answer to that question.

Upon returning for a very successful raid, the squad returned with an actual prisoner, something Ares had not allowed before. Charlie and the others were anxious to interrogate the prisoner to find out as much as they could. They had brewed_ veritas_ serum, a truth drug to make the soldier talk. Charlie doubted the soldier knew anything, but could be compelled to tell them where the main camp was, what the demon army consisted of, and how soldiers were left. Charlie was told that the soldier was not cooperating, which was to be expected, but he wanted the opportunity to speak with him.

The soldier was a very pretty witch. She looked familiar to Charlie when he first saw her.

"Do I know you?" he asked.

She looked at him with disgust. "No, you would have remembered me," she said arrogantly, spitting on the floor next to his foot.

"I like a spirited woman," he said.

The woman looked back at him defiantly. "I'm not afraid of you," she said.

"I believe you." Charlie kept looking at her. "I do know you. You're Azura. You were going to turn me into a longhorn. You were at that magic club. What are you doing hooked up with that asshole Ares?"

Once Charlie and his friend Travis had gone to a muggle magic club and were surprised with a real-life witch tried to pass herself off as a magician. She had used the Imperius curse on Charlie trying to get him to act like a chicken, but Charlie had resisted. She had been reported for using an unforgiveable curse.

"Thanks to you, cock sucker, I had my wand broken and I was sent to prison for re-education. They took six months of my life away from me. Then I met Ares. We share the same passion in our hatred of you." She spat.

"Well, if it brings people together," Charlie joked. "Where is he now? What do you know about his demon army?" He asked.

"Fuck you," she said defiantly. "I'm not telling you shit. Torture me all you want."

"Okay," he said happily. "Since you aren't going to tell us anything on your own free will, we can get you to talk the old fashioned way. I'm not averse to using the cruciatus curse; since we're all being illegal. It won't bother me a bit."

He saw the first glimpse of fear in her eyes. "Tell me what you know."

"I know that you're a low class mother fucker. I know that you are the biggest ass hole in the whole world." She sat back looking at him insolently.

He looked at her patiently. "Okay, let me rephrase that; tell me something I _don't_ know. Tell me all about the demon army and how Ares plans to use it. While you're at it, tell me where Ares is. That should save us a lot of time."

"Fuck you." She said.

"You keep saying that, but it's really not an option right now." He got down real close to her face and pushed her hair out of her eyes gently. "Azura," he whispered quietly, " you are going to tell us what we need to know. Now we can do it the easy way, like this, as two old friends, just you and I, or I'm going to turn you over to some people who aren't as nice as I am." There were people in the camp who were trained interrogators. "There are much worse things than the cruciatus curse."

"I hate you!" she said.

Charlie stood up and shook his head sadly. "Okay. Take her away." Two of the biggest wizards he had ever seen rushed forward and grabbed her arms, dragging her out of the tent.

"Wait, wait, wait," she said quickly.

"Yes?" Charlie drawled, holding up his hand.

"Ramorphus gave Ares use of her demon army." She said.

"Again, tell me something I don't know." He said. "When does he plan to start using it?"

Panic filled her eyes. "I don't know. I don't know that much."

"Oh, I think you do." He turned to the interrogators. "Gentlemen." Once again, the two huge wizards grabbed her and removed her from the tent.

Charlie pulled out a map that Wolfgang had given him earlier. Ricardo and Jesus Manuel were looking at him curiously.

"You would have them torture a woman?" Jesus Manuel asked.

"Should I let her go?" he asked. "Or treat her differently because she's a woman? She saw enough of this camp to go back to Ares and tell him everything. She knows where we are and probably could tell him how many people are here. She also knows more about Ares than you think. If I have to remind you that this is a war, then go back home. You asked me to join you. Did you think for one minute that I wouldn't do all that I have in my power to defeat Ares? You've never lived in a world controlled by dark magic. You have no idea what you're talking about." Charlie was pissed now. If he couldn't convince his men, who had been training their whole lives, what chance did they have?

"Get the fuck out of here," he said rudely to Jesus Manuel. "Go home to your mother."

"You misunderstand, _jefe."_ Jesus Manuel said. "I am here to fight with you. I'm sorry. But a woman," he looked down at the ground.

Charlie put his hand on the man's shoulder. "Don't think for one minute that she wouldn't slit your throat in the dead of night. _Mira,_ I understand, but you can't think differently just because it's a woman. Ares uses women; this one's probably one of the worse. She used an Imperius curse on me just for laughs. She's very dangerous. And I wouldn't be surprised if she was captured on purpose just to get intelligence from us. She figures just what you're thinking that we won't hurt her and we'll let her go. But that ain't happening. And if it bothers you, let the professionals take care of it, or leave."

Jesus stayed where he was. Six hours later, there was a message that Azura had told them everything they needed to hear about Ares and the demon army. Someone was coming over to bring the full report. Jesus Manuel didn't ask what happened to Azura.

Two days later, Charlie received a message from Travis. Ares wanted to do a prisoner exchange. He wanted Azura for an unnamed prisoner his men had captured. Charlie asked if Travis knew who it was. Somebody close to Charlie was all Travis knew and they wanted Charlie to make the exchange.


	9. Chapter 9 The Village

_Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling_

Chapter 9-- The Village

"We have to destroy Ramorphus's orb to destroy the demon army, so my having to go to Ares is a good idea." Charlie said.

Ricardo shook his head. "It doesn't need to be you, _jefe_. You're needed here."

"You tell me who else it could be and I'll gladly let them go. _Mira_, I'm no hero but Ares knows me, he won't accept anyone else. I don't know who he's got; it could be anyone. I don't want to risk someone's life. It makes sense for me to go." Charlie said.

"It's a trap." Ricardo said, throwing his wand on the table before them.

"Ya think?" Charlie said, trying to lighten the mood. "Do you have a better idea? We have to destroy the orb, and this is going to be our best opportunity."

"We could go in all at once in force, a surprise attack. Now that we know where they are…" Jesus Manuel suggested.

"And have Ares unleash a legion of demon soldiers? How many soldiers do we have? A thousand?"

"Why would Ares want Azura back? He'll know we used a memory charm on her." Jesus Manuel said thoughtfully.

Charlie shook his head. "He won't be bothered by a little memory charm. He'll dig into her mind until he finds something. I doubt if she'll be worth much once he done with her." He looked up to find Ricardo and Jesus Manuel staring at him with startled looks on their faces. He laughed humorlessly. "I keep forgetting you never studied the dark arts. You'd be amazed at the tools dark wizards use. They have no consideration for human life."

"Who do you think they have?" Ricardo asked.

Charlie shrugged. "I have no idea. Travis is working on it. He's going to see who turns up missing. Everyone I know who isn't fighting is under a protective spell. I think it's a bluff, but we can't take any chances."

Charlie refused to believe that Ares had taken someone dear to him. He refused to think about Jessica. No one knew about her and he had placed her under a protective spell that only Mike knew about just to be on the safe side.

Ares had used a woman before to get to Charlie. Ares knew him very well. Charlie was the kind of man who would rush in to save his friends, risking his own life. It was just like Charlie to try to save the world.

"Ricardo, tell me all about the two demons. Ramorphus and what the other one's name?" Charlie said suddenly.

"Zephas." Ricardo said.

"Right. You said he wasn't so bad?"

"She. Legend is that Ramorphus and Zephas are sisters. Both are demon lords who command legions of demons, but there is a rivalry between the two. Has something to do with their father favoring one over the other. Ramorphus is more of a soldier, but Zephas commands more legions of demons who are possessors. Supposedly they possess souls and control them to do whatever Zephas has them do. Her demons could possess the wizard soldiers and make them jump off a cliff to their deaths, stuff like that. Women used to blame Zephas for turning them into prostitutes, kind of like 'I didn't do it, the demons did.' And men would blame Zephas if they got caught with prostitutes. Really heavy mind control. Zephas is easily amused apparently. The humans they possess turn into something like zombies if she gets pissed off enough."

"And how is that better than a demon army?" Charlie asked.

"It probably isn't. But, if you get Zephas on your side, her demons will fight the demon soldiers. And she'll do just about anything if it means going against her sister."

"At what price?" Charlie asked. "Apparently Ares is willing to give up his soul, not that he has one anyway, and he's giving her dominion over all the people he conquers. My question is, is the cure worse than the disease?" Shaking his head, he said, "We're going to have to think about this real long and real hard.

"In the meantime, we've got to come up with a plan how we can destroy that orb. I really believe that this is our best opportunity. It's protected by those demon dogs, and I'm guessing they are pretty much immune to any simple spells. Maybe the spells we use on dragons will work, but, well, we won't know until we try."

The one thing the men could agree on was that whatever they tried would be difficult, if not impossible. Charlie was sure that Ares would be completely prepared and whatever arrangements they agreed upon for the prisoner swap would be at Ares's advantage.

Charlie did not want to respond to Ares's request until he knew every single detail, including who Ares had captured. He would have to go to Ares's camp in order to destroy the orb, unless he could be a diversion; have a platoon go to Ares's camp while he was negotiating Azura's release. Of course, Ares would be expecting an assault. Charlie was sure that Ares's main objective in the whole prisoner exchange scenario was to kill him; that's why he wasn't too concerned about the alleged prisoner. But, Ares also knew that the worst kind of torture Charlie could suffer was seeing his loved ones hurt. He was trying to convince himself that it was a ruse. Ares probably arranged for Azura to be captured, just to get to Charlie. It was Charlie, after all who thwarted his first invasion of America. Charlie knew Ares was not the kind of wizard who would forgive and forget. It troubled him that he was so willing to throw away another soul. Charlie understood why Azura hated him and he didn't have any ill will against her, but he was concerned that Ares was enough of a sadist to enjoy torturing him; so what if a stupid witch had to be sacrificed? Was he starting to feel sorry for Azura?

_Come on, Weasley, _he told himself. _You've been in tighter spots that this. _Joanna would tell him to butch up and not be such a pussy. He laughed at that.

Charlie walked to the area that was holding Azura. The interrogators were sitting outside the holding area. They stood up when Charlie walked up to them. He was afraid they were going to salute him as they jumped up and stood at attention. He nodded at the two men and told them to relax. He wasn't a fucking general for God's sake. It was bad enough his men called him "jefe," or leader.

"How's our prisoner?" he asked.

"Very good, _jefe._ We gave her a sleeping potion. It's help with the memory charm." The taller of the men said.

"You know that Ares is going to get through the memory charm, don't you? What is your back up?"

The two men looked at each other. "We have embedded a deviation to the memory charm that sets up alternative memories; there will be several layers, including implanting a memory that seems genuine; this will be two levels above the first level. The false memory is realistic enough that we believe he'll stop there."

Charlie nodded, impressed. "Let's hope so. It sounds good. Great work, men."

The two men beamed. "Thank you, sir." They said together.

Charlie spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the camp, observing the soldiers' training and preparations. They were really beginning to shape up. It was important that the men saw him and that he went on patrols with them. There was a chance that some of these brave soldiers would be killed and he wanted them to know how much their dedication and sacrifice meant to him.

Charlie noticed that there was a platoon of witches who had been training alongside the men. He found out that there have been women soldiers since the group's inception. Not all of the females were from Mexico, either. There were several some America and Canada. He was interested in how they found out about the army of the righteous and what led them to join. The leader of the female platoon was named Maria Therese Alvarado and she had been with the army since she was fifteen years old. She had a hardened look to her; she was definitely someone you didn't want to fuck with.

"Where is Maria Therese?" he asked a young female recruit. He was going to ask her why she didn't join the other leaders when they had their strategy sessions. He wanted all the leaders included.

The young recruit nervously pointed to the next tent. "She's there, jefe. Shall I get her for you?" He nodded and she ran into the tent. A few seconds later, Maria Therese came running out of the tent.

"You wanted to see me, _jefe_?" She said, slightly out of breath.

"Yes, I just wanted to know why you haven't been in our strategy meetings. I'm sure you have a lot to offer."

Maria Therese looked down at the ground. "I didn't know I was supposed to come. No one told me. I just thought it was for the men."

Charlie looked at her sharply. "You are one of the leaders and I am looking forward to your insight. Who do you usually answer to?" he asked, getting slightly annoyed.

"Jesus Manuel, sir." She said.

Charlie nodded. "Well, you'll answer to me from now on. Come on, we have a meeting in a few minutes. Don't miss any more." He said curtly.

"No, sir. I'm sorry."

As she and Charlie walked toward the leaders' tent, Wolfgang ran up beside him.

"Charlie," he said. "Ares's men have just wiped out a small village not far from here. It was a muggle village. Total devastation."

"Wizard army?" he asked, closing his eyes preparing for the worst.

Wolfgang looked at him and shook his head. "It doesn't look like it. It's, uh, pretty ghastly. From what I know about demons, they aren't neat."

Charlie blew out a breath. "Fuck," he said, imagining the carnage. "Okay, assemble the leaders of every company and above; we'll meet in my tent." He turned to Maria Therese. "Are your witches ready to see some action?" he asked her.

She nodded confidently. "_Si, senor_."

"Well, you're about to get it." He said as they quickly made their way to the main tent.

The leaders were just making it in when Charlie and Maria Therese entered. Wolfgang had the intelligence material, including several maps on the table for them. Charlie studied the map and the photographs Wolfgang and others in the intelligence company took not thirty minutes before. The photographs were grisly reminders of what the demon army was capable of.

"I'm going to need a platoon to that village to assess the damage and see if there's anything we can do. Maria Therese will be leading. It may very well be a trap, but I want you in and out. If there are any of the enemy left there, and I don't think there will be, I want them captured or destroyed. If there are any survivors, I want them brought here. Got it?" He took Maria Therese aside.

"It's not going to be pretty in there. You saw the photographs. As soon as you get in there, I want you to send me a patronus, understand?" He said. Charlie wanted to be the one going into the village, but he knew that he had to give the responsibility to the others. He hated sitting back and letting others get exposed to the unknown dangers.

She nodded, understanding. "We're ready, jefe. We won't let you down."

Charlie smiled. "Okay. Good luck." He turned to the others as Maria Therese made her way out of the tent.

"I want the rest of you to get ready. Stay on alert. Nobody leaves. Understand?" The men nodded.

Charlie, Wolfgang and Ricardo stayed together in the tent anxiously waiting for word from Maria Therese. They studied the maps and the other intelligence and Wolfgang tried to answer the questions Ricardo and Charlie had.

As the time wore on, Ricardo became more anxious. Charlie was nervous, too but he didn't let it show. After two hours, Maria Therese's patronus, a jack rabbit, appeared in the tent. In her voice, the patronus said, "There are no survivors, and no indication of enemy soldiers. We have some cleaning up to do. It's worse than we thought. Ares left you a message." The patronus disappeared.

Charlie blew out a breath and closed his eyes. The wait was torturous, but finally after another three hours, Maria Therese and her platoon returned. They were clearly stunned by what they had seen. Charlie reassured them and commended them for their bravery. Maria Therese gave her report and then she reluctantly handed Charlie a folded piece of paper. It had blood splatters on it.

"This is the message," she said, not able to look at Charlie in the eyes. Tucked inside the paper was a photograph. It was a picture of Jessica taken as she left her apartment, oblivious that anyone had taken her picture.

He read the note out loud. "Now we have something to negotiate. Tomorrow at noon. Come to the village. Bring Azura and come alone."


	10. Chapter 10 The Plan

_Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling_

Chapter 10—The Plan

For the first time in over a month, Charlie threw his head back and laughed. Ricardo and Wolfgang thought he must be going crazy. Too much stress. Then he threw the picture down on the table.

"This is an old picture. Jessica moved. This isn't her apartment. _That son of a bitch_. He reads the celebrity tabloids." He blew out a breath. The protective charm did work. Ares was bluffing.

"What?" Asked Ricardo.

Charlie scratched his nose. "You know in my _other_ life, the one where I'm a big famous Quidditch player." He rolled his eyes. "Man, it must have been what two years ago? Anyway, the witch tabloids got hold of the story that I was dating a muggle, Jessica." He pointed at the picture. "There was a picture on the cover of one of them of us, well, Jessica and me. Jess saw it and broke up with me over it. Apparently it was a big deal when we broke up Anyway, the press kept hounding her and they took a lot of pictures of her and witches started appearing at her doorstep and it really creeped her out. So she moved, but the tabloids kept printing the same pictures of her old apartment when they couldn't find her. Finally they moved on to something else. Obviously Ares really did take a picture of her or got a copy of one that the tabloids took and this is all he has." Charlie smiled again. "Ares knows that I cared about her and that I'm a sucker for beautiful women but he doesn't know anything else."

Charlie smiled again. "Okay, we have less than 24 hours to plan the assault.

"Now, if we find a way to get to the orb, we need to decide whether we steal it or destroy it. If we destroy it, Ramorphus is going to come after Ares, right, but then she'll come after us and I think that would be bad. But, if we steal it, I think she'll still go after Ares, but it's something we can negotiate. Like, 'here you go, Ramorphus, leave us in peace.' And we hand over the orb and everyone's happy. Of course, we wouldn't hand it over until Ramorphus destroys Ares." He nodded his head, thinking. "And we have to get the orb passed the dogs. She might get a little pissed if we killed her dogs, but she might blame Ares, too.

"Now, we know that Ares has already unleashed some of the demon army. I don't know if they are still bound or have been completely released. I think the massacre at the village was a test to see what the demons could do." Charlie was so busy working out the scenarios in his head that he almost forgot that he wasn't alone. He grinned sheepishly.

"What do you think?" He turned to the men who were watching him carefully.

The men started talking at once. Each one seemed to have an idea how Ares wizard army could be destroyed so that the orb could be captured. They agreed that the orb shouldn't be destroyed. They needed something to negotiate with to Ramorphus.

Ricardo, who seemed to know more about the demon lords than anyone agreed that capturing the orb would be better. How they would get it was the question of the hour. He also thought a head-on assault would be better once Ares was diverted at the village making the prisoner exchange. Since they knew it was a trap, most of Ares's army was probably going to be there. Ares might feel cocky enough to leave the orb at their main headquarters with just a few soldiers and the demon dogs guarding it.

"I think you should at least take a battalion of soldiers with you. You know there's going to be a fight." Ricardo said.

Maria Therese spoke up. "What if he brings the demon army and leaves his wizard army at their headquarters?"

Charlie nodded. "That sounds more feasible. His destruction of the village was done to make a point. Shit, it would be a lot simpler if he left the demon army at home. But we can't be sure. Wolfgang?"

"Yes, j_efe_?" Wolfgang said.

"We need some good Intel on this, my friend." Charlie said.

"We can find out when he heads out to the village tomorrow. That's the best I can do, sir. Sorry." Wolfgang looked disconcerted

"If he brings the demon army, I'm basically fucked, aren't I?" He looked at the map of the village thoughtfully, tapping a finger on the table. "I think that's what he's going to do. Makes sense. He's after me. We still need to get that orb anyway. Boo, is there any way the orb is more vulnerable? What would happen if he released a legion or two—I don't think it'll take that many, but he is a showboat; the bigger the fire power, the bigger his hard-on. Sorry, Maria." He said when Maria Therese coughed. She blushed and waved her hand dismissively.

"Charlie," Ricardo said. "I think we're going to have to use Zephas."

He thought about it for a moment. He shook his head. That was too dangerous. The idea of releasing a legion of zombie-producing demons was too risky to even consider.

"_Mira," _Ricardo said. "We'll do it anyway if the bastard kills you. This will just save us some time and it may save your life."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Charlie raised an eyebrow. "So much for me being supreme commander if everyone is going to override me." He snorted.

"It could be our only chance." Ricardo said.

Charlie looked resigned. "How do we approach Zephas?"

Ricardo clapped his hands together. "Excellent_. _Leave that to me. The problem is that there's a chance when we call on Zephas, Ramorphus appears instead."

"That can happen? Oh shit, that would suck. So, how can we guarantee that Zephas opens the door when we come knocking?"

"There's a witch I know that is like a medium and can communicate. The witch will know how; that's why we don't try it ourselves. Apparently there are is a certain incantation that works but no one knows it but this witch, and of course we have to bribe her. Everything is so political these days." Ricardo said.

"Let's do it," Charlie said. "What are you going to bribe her with?"

Ricardo blushed. "Let's just call it a sacrifice," he grinned. Suddenly Charlie understood.

"Are you sure it's not something I should do? I'm the charmer." Charlie said.

"You need to save your strength to battle Ares. I've got it covered." Ricardo shook his head, cheekily. "Besides, you can't bring a calf to a bullfight; let a real man handle it."

Charlie laughed and let it go. "Be careful. And don't take too long, but I understand that's not a problem with you." He chided.

"_Chinga tu madra." _Ricardo laughed.

Maria Therese gave Ricardo a dirty look, but Ricardo ignored her. He left the tent and the others finally relaxed.

Charlie looked at Wolfgang. "How many wizard soldiers does Ares have?" He asked.

"He keeps killing them off. Realistically, our best count is," he shrugged. "I would say…" he hedged.

"Ballpark," Charlie said impatiently.

Wolfgang didn't understand and he looked at him confused.

"Approximately, what is your best guess?"

"Fifteen hundred." He shrugged again.

Charlie grinned. "That's do-able. We're going for an all-out assault. While I'm at the village _negotiating _with Ares, the real battle's going to be at his own headquarters. He'll figure that I'll bring the army with me and he'll have his little demon buddies and hopefully I'll have my little demon buddies and that will be that." He clapped his hands together.

Each of the leaders wanted their soldiers to have a chance fighting Ares. There was still a lot of planning and training to do, but for the first time since the fighting began, there was hope. The danger was still high and there was a chance that Ricardo wouldn't be able to talk the witch into helping them; then there was the possibility if they did get the witch's help, Zephas wouldn't want to take revenge on her sister.

"There's nothing more we can do now." Charlie said. "I think we're ready. Make sure your men and _women_," he dipped his head in acknowledgment to Maria Therese, "get plenty of rest. I have the feeling tomorrow's going to be a mother fucker."


	11. Chapter 11 Zephas, the Other Demon

_Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling_

Chapter 11—Zephas, the Other Demon

Charlie stayed in the command tent the rest of the night receiving updated intelligence reports from Wolfgang and his men. There was more movement now than there had been in the weeks preceding the Ares's invasion of small villages and the random fighting in the desert.

Travis sent him an urgent message. Groups of thugs had held patrons of several muggle nightclubs in several major American cities hostage for several hours before sexually assaulting some of the females and terrorizing the men. This had happened before on a much smaller scale when Ares appeared the first time. It was obvious that he wanted to cause panic and mayhem. Ares loved chaos and the fear that went along with it.

Ares had instructed his young followers to cause the same chaos and mayhem in the wizarding community as well. Wizards were turning up missing and or killed outright. Wizards were complaining that the Department of Magic was doing nothing to stop the violence. The Auror Division was working overtime to try and stop Ares's men. The Society lent a hand as well, and seemed to be making more progress in finding and stopping the reign of terror.

The plan of attack on Ares's camp was evolving minute by minute. The fighters had to be flexible and ready to move once they received the latest Intel. Charlie still believed that Ares would meet him head on with the demon army in the village that was decimated earlier. He also believed that Ares was too big of a coward to face him alone.

Charlie was counting on Ricardo to negotiate a pact with Zephas, but they had to be ready with a contingency plan in case that fell through. Ricardo should be returning soon. It was only a matter of time now.

Charlie was worried about the men and women that may be hurt or killed. The troops were well prepared, but he hated the idea of losing some of his men. He believed with all his heart that the soldiers would stop the advance. They may not wipe out dark magic out completely, but they sure as hell could slow it down. Morale was extremely high in the camp; their attitudes would help them in their fight. Charlie desperately wanted to be the one leading them into battle, not stuck in the middle of a dead village with an insane wizard with delusions of grandeur.

Ricardo returned to the camp later and much worse for wear. The witch was obviously satisfied with his bribe, but Ricardo was so worn out Charlie insisted he take a nap before he proceeded with his report. Charlie made sure he would never let Ricardo forget his overall appearance as he limped into camp. That was the only bit of levity the rest of the night.

Ricardo went back to his tent and showered, changed clothes and came back to the command post after half an hour. His mission had been successful and he had what he believed the incantation to summon Zephas. Talking her into helping them was another story. Charlie was still reluctant to use another demon, but everyone was convinced it was the only shot they had to defeat Ramorphus's army. They needed to contact Zephas as soon as possible.

Charlie decided that he, Ricardo, and Maria Therese would present their case to the demon. Charlie thought that having a woman present might placate the demon somewhat. Maria Therese, who was extremely religious and spiritual was reluctant, but never said a word when Charlie told her he needed her. She was uncomfortable with even talking about demons, but Charlie promised her she wouldn't have to say anything; just stand there.

Ricardo said that the witch suggested that they bring a tribute with them. He said something like gold or something shiny. Charlie, who was rather good at transfiguration, took a cactus flower and a piece of wire and turned them into a precious stone flower necklace. It was delicate, but the chain was a thick golden rope. He included a crystal vase with two dozen long stemmed roses. Most women he knew loved to get jewelry and flowers, so what the hell, it was worth a shot.

The three of them made the trip to the mountain where he had first seen Ramorphus. Depending on his friend Ricardo, who recited the incantation, the three of them waiting patiently for the demon to appear. The earth shuttered and quaked and Maria Therese who was not easily shaken appeared nervous, but she stood her ground.

A fissure appeared on the side of the mountain and a smelly gas emitted from the hole. A light came from within the hole. Ricardo repeated the incantation and the earthquake subsided.

"Zephas," Ricardo said loudly. He repeated the name five times.

"Who calls me?" A voice from the fissure asked.

"Three weary travelers who have journeyed far to seek your help." Ricardo said. "Your sister's army has threatened the lives of the mortals and we know that you are the only one who can defeat her army."

"What do I care about a bunch of mortals; that doesn't affect me?" She said with a bored voice.

"But Zephas, the wizard who summoned her promised her all the souls that he captured with the help of her army would belong to her." Ricardo spoke quickly. "She would rule the land outside the domain."

That seemed to register with her. She was quiet for a few moments, apparently thinking it over. "What did you bring me in tribute?" she asked. Her tone was still bored, but slightly curious.

Charlie showed her the roses in the crystal vase. He sat them down outside the opening. Then he held up the shiny necklace. Charlie was beginning to think it was a mistake to give her something cheesy like a golden necklace, and flowers for fuck's sake, but for some reason, she seemed to like it.

Two of the ugliest creatures scurried from within the shadows and scooped up the crystal vase and the uglier of the two, a creature that looked like a cross between a really ugly monkey and a toad jumped up on Charlie and sat on his shoulder. The creature glared at him with yellow-red eyes and stuck out its long toad-like tongue, giving Charlie a slimy kiss. The creature cackled and took the necklace from his hand and hopped away.

Charlie's first urge, as he fought back his gag reflex was to wipe his mouth, but something in his brain told him not to move. He'd been kissed by worse looking woman, he thought to himself. Of course he'd been too drunk at the time to notice. So Charlie managed a smiled and didn't move.

The monkey-toad creature came back out and was wearing the necklace. The creature stood before the three and started growing larger. It was now as tall as Charlie. It looked at Charlie and transformed into a human shape. It morphed into a woman. She blinked once and her eyes changed colors, the red disappeared and her eyes shone yellow. Next to Charlie, Ricardo audibly caught his breath. Charlie turned to Ricardo and he had turned a sickly green. This was the witch he had seduced to get the incantation. Before Ricardo could make a move, Charlie bowed slightly, silently begging Ricardo not to move.

"Zephas?" he asked cordially. "You are full of surprises," he was smiling. That was another thing Charlie wasn't going to let Ricardo forget, in they ever got off the mountain.

Zephas walked over to Ricardo and touched his face, stroking it absently; her eyes still on Charlie. She looked at Maria Therese who was standing behind them. Maria Therese had not moved an inch, as if she was frozen in place. Her expression was unreadable.

"Will you help us, Zephas?" Charlie asked, trying to draw her attention away from Maria Therese.

"Yes, I think I will," she said, still looking at Maria. "Our armies have battled before. I won't let her rule outside of the domain." She snorted in disgust. "She doesn't have the right to claim anything; I'd like to see her try." She fingered the necklace that Charlie gave her.

Charlie was hoping that her demons could beat Ramorphus's soldiers. It didn't have to be a fair fight, just enough so he could kill Ares and escape with his life. Then he would join his soldiers fighting the wizard army. He believed that the war could be over today.

Charlie bowed very low. "Thank you, Zephas," he said.

"How many soldiers did Ramorphus give Ares?" she asked.

Charlie had no idea and from his look Ricardo didn't have a clue, either.

"I saw her give the green orb to Ares," Charlie said.

"Only one?" she asked, now smiling. Charlie nodded. This seemed to amuse her. She threw her head back and laughed. "Such a fool." She said to herself. "Ares is an idiot. My sister must have been teasing him."

"Well," Charlie began, "Ares isn't very smart, but he is ambitious."

"He should have come to me first." Clearly she was amused.

"But if he had, Zephas, I wouldn't have had the honor of meeting you." Charlie said.

"Where are you supposed to meet Ramorphus's army?" she asked.

Charlie told her when and where he was supposed to meet Ares. He wasn't sure he wanted to tell her he wasn't sure if the demon army would be there. He was fairly sure, though, but he didn't want to get on Zephas's bad side, either, so he added that he only thought he would bring the demon army because Ares wanted him destroyed so badly. That peaked her interest as well. Why did Ares want him killed, she asked him.

Charlie explained Ares's ambition and how Charlie thwarted his plan to introduce the dark arts into America. He wanted to rule, then, too. As Charlie explained, he noticed that she was losing interest, so he thought it best to drop the subject. Damn, Charlie thought, for a demon lord, she sure has a short attention span. He started talking about what Ares did when he met Ramorphus, how he genuflected and worshiped her like she was queen of the underworld. That brought her around. The more Charlie talked about Ramorphus and Ares, the angrier Zephas got. Finally, she literally stamped her feet, she was so angry.

_Now we're talking_, Charlie thought. _Come on sweetheart, give me the fucking army. We have to go._ Charlie's expression did not reveal what he was thinking. He was smiling graciously. _Now, bitch, please. Let's get a move on._ "Zephas?" he said.

"I am going." She said plainly.

"O-kay," he said drawing out the word. "Well. Great." He clapped his hands together. "Excellent." He looked at Ricardo who looked just as clueless as he felt. What now?

Marie Therese tapped Charlie on the shoulder and pushed ahead of him. "Zephas," she said. "Thank you for your help." She didn't bow, but stood straight. "Do you wish to travel with us? For we must away now. We were challenged to meet him within the hour and we fear he has a hostage. We cannot jeopardize the life of an innocent. I'm sure you understand."

Zephas looked at Maria. "No, my army will meet them on the battlefield. Go now."

Charlie and Ricardo bowed out of her sight, drawing Maria Therese with them. When they had cleared the area, the fissure closed and they turned away quickly.

"Shit, I hope we can trust her. What do you think?" Charlie said. He was cautiously optimistic. Finally he was beginning to believe that maybe he would survive; that there was a real chance Ares wouldn't kill him.

"I can't believe I fucked a demon," Ricardo said, retching.


	12. Chapter 12 Demon Battle

_Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling_

Chapter 12—Demon Battle

"Focus, Boo. It's not about you," Charlie said with a smirk in his voice. Charlie couldn't look at Ricardo without grinning. Ricardo couldn't stop retching. The only one who wasn't reactive was Maria Therese. She gave Ricardo a hard look, but didn't say anything.

The three made their way back to their headquarters. The army was getting ready for the battle at Ares camp. The air was filled with an electric charge that was palpable. Once Charlie, Ricardo and Maria Therese returned to the camp, there was a visible sense of relief. The soldiers were waiting on their leader.

The first thing Charlie did was ask that Azura be brought to him. They would be leaving within the hour for the village for the 'prisoner exchange.' The memory charm had been implanted several days in advance so that she would settle into her new memory with more ease. As the interrogators told him previously, her memory was a layer of story, some completely implausible, and the one they hoped Ares would stop at was a realistic scenario that sounded like real information was being given away.

"So, Azura," Charlie said in a genial manner. "Are you ready to go back to Ares? I hope that you'll tell him you were well treated and not abused in any way. We wouldn't want any ill-will between us," he said sardonically.

Azura was just as surly and profane as she was when she was taken into the camp. The wizards had talked about making her friendlier, but Charlie told them not to bother. They could fake that as well.

"You think you're going to be welcomed back as a hero, do you?" he asked after she'd spit on him for the second time. She called him every foul name she'd ever heard of. Charlie's personal favorite was 'cocksucker.' She was such a cute, petite thing; her mouth was totally out of sync with the way she looked. "Ares is going to scramble your already scrambled brain to get information he thinks you have. I hate to see a pretty little thing like you fucked over by that worthless piece of shit." He shook his head sadly. "Oh well, that's not my problem anymore."

"Ares is going to kill you," Azura said dramatically. "And I can't wait to watch him fuck your dead rotting corpse in the ass."

"Azura," Charlie said mildly, making a tut-ing sound. "How can you expect to have a career as a magician when you clearly have no people skills? And you should really think about anger management."

Charlie turned to the interrogator and said, "Maybe you should have used a memory charm that makes her a wee bit more likeable. Let's get ready." The wizard started to take her away. "Wait." The wizard who was holding on to her arm tightly stopped and turned around.

"Yes,_ jefe_?" he said. Azura tried to pull away, but she was overpowered. He jerked her by the arm and she yelped, muttering curses under her breath.

"Clean her up. Give her a new set of robes if we have them. I want her to look better than when we got her." Charlie chewed thoughtfully on his thumbnail. "I'll pick her up on my way out," he said. "And thank you for all you've done. You do an incredible job." Charlie smiled at him then turned to concentrate on the paperwork on the table.

"_Gracias, senor._" He said humbly.

Wolfgang entered the tent as the interrogator and Azura was leaving. He steered clear of the kicking Azura.

"Ah, Wolfgang, my favorite spy. What do you have for us?" he asked cheerfully.

"It's pretty much like you expected. There looks like movement from half of the wizard army. I think they're going to try an assault on us while Ares is with you."

Charlie nodded in agreement. "Makes sense. I'd do it. How many?"

Wolfgang shrugged. "Not sure, probably 700." He said, remembering that Charlie always wanted to know his best guess.

"What's special about them?" he asked.

"Nothing that I could see. They're highly motivated. That's about it. I didn't see any great magic; probably a protective spell, cloaked. They think they have the element of surprise because Ares has told them we are unprepared." Wolfgang chuckled. "He believes the demon army is all he needs to get to you and whomever you decide to bring with you. He really is a fool."

"That's what I'm counting on." Charlie said.

"How did it go with Zephas?" he asked. "I haven't seen Ricardo and Maria Therese is busy with her witches."

Again Charlie shrugged. "She agreed to fight the demon army, but who knows? She's supposed to meet us in the village. We'll see."

Charlie had no idea how Wolfgang was able to get such credible information until he figured out that Wolfgang must be an _animagis_. That would explain how he recovered so quickly from his near-death experience. He probably didn't have time to make the transition when Ares army attacked earlier. It was no small wonder that he was able to obtain information so easily without being captured. He decided he wasn't going to ask Wolfgang about it either. That could be his little secret.

He didn't know if animagi were required to register in Mexico or the United States like they were in England. There were a lot of differences between the countries. America seemed to have a more open attitude with less regulation, but he wasn't as familiar with Mexican magic control.

There was one more meeting with the leaders before Charlie left and the battle was to begin. The new intelligence changed the face of the battle. The soldiers would be waiting for Ares's army in the desert away from the actual headquarters. They would have the element of surprise and would have the advantage.

The leaders and Charlie went over their plans again and again to make sure everything was understood and they were as prepared as they could be. Satisfied that they were indeed ready to do battle, Charlie choose a platoon to accompany him and his prisoner. He knew Ares would expect him to bring soldiers even though he was supposed to come alone. Everything was going according to plan.

The platoon and Charlie were given a protective charm and also a blessing from the spiritual leader. That was something else that Charlie wasn't used to, but the Mexicans were highly spiritual and superstitious people. He found their faith endearing.

"Let's get this party started," Charlie said finally. He went by, as promised to pick up Azura on his way out. The interrogators had cleaned her up nicely and stunned her so that she wouldn't fight him. It was going to be a long day and Charlie didn't need to fight a crazy little blond Tasmania devil every step of the way.

As soon as Charlie and the platoon headed out, the rest of the army, with a battalion sized group staying behind to defend the headquarters should Ares's army get past the soldiers, took off to the pre-arranged location. Charlie saluted the leaders and the soldiers.

The village where they were to meet Ares was located on the other side of the desert in a very remote area. It was a native village and as far as Charlie could tell, the outside world wasn't aware that the village had been destroyed. There was no outside communication. The only hint of the modern world was the anthropologists who were embedded in the community. The two college graduate students had been killed with the rest of the village. They probably wouldn't be missed either for several months.

Maria Therese's witch platoon had taken care to clean up the carnage. They buried the dead and left their disappearance a mystery. The village looked like everyone had just walked away from it into the desert. The villagers were taken by surprised and didn't have the chance to put up a fight; not that they could have if they had had the opportunity. It looked like the demons had come in silently in the dead of night, slaughtering every man, woman, and child. Even the animals were destroyed.

Charlie knew there was a chance he would be killed today. He tried not to think about it. The village was eerily quiet. Ares was probably there, watching them, but the quiet was deafening. He smiled an encouragement to the men and instructed them silently to spread out and find cover. Ares would expect that, and he didn't want to disappoint.

Charlie seated Azura at the village square at the communal watering station. She was quiet; the spell was working nicely. He wanted to make sure that Ares saw that she was all right.

He had no idea if Ares was still going to pretend he had Jessica. The thought was ridiculous. Could Ares really be that stupid? Or maybe Ares didn't give Charlie enough credit. No one knew that he and Jessica were back together and he intended to keep it that way.

While they waited on something to happen, Charlie thought about what he had said to Jessica before he left. He had been caught up in the moment and had thought about his own mortality. Jessica deserved a hell of a lot better than him. Still, he wasn't going to back down on his promise just because he was getting cold feet. _Yeah, _he thought, _who'd believe Charlie Weasley was getting married? _He smiled to himself; the more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea.

Charlie heard a rumbling coming up from the east. A giant cloud of dust was approaching; Ares no doubt. He sat calmly at the watering hole waiting. He crossed his legs and leaned back on his hand; his face tilted toward the hot sun. He looked like a man at his leisure; not a care in the world. Then he heard another rumbling; a giant black cloud was approaching from the west. It looked like the clouds were going to collide somewhere approximately where Charlie was sitting. The cloud to the west looked bigger than the one in the east. He hoped the bigger one was Zephas. Both clouds rose above the ground and ran into each other head on. The storm that resulted was worse than a tornado in its ferocity. Lightning flashed across the sky. Thunder-like sounds boomed all around. It must be a hell of a battle, thought Charlie as he watched the sky. The storm raged for what seemed like hours, the clouds churned orange-red, then black and back to red. At this point there was no way to tell who was winning. He heard voices in the clouds and from a distance it probably looked like the end of the world. The ground beneath the storm however was calm. The clouds rose and fell as the battle continued; the sounds of the battle echoed throughout the desert.

And just as suddenly, it was over. The clouds turned from red to white and finally dissipated, leaving a brilliant sun. Before the clouds dissipated, though, a fine red and white mist fell to the earth, making the ground look like a bloody snow storm. Then as quickly, as it appeared, a cleansing warm breeze blew it away.

The battle was over, but Charlie did not know who won. He was anxious to talk to his men who had witnessed the battle; to assure them that everything was all right. His only concern was not knowing where Ares was. He hoped that Ares had run away, but he doubted that.

"Where's your boy friend?" he asked Azura who was watching her reflection in the deep community well. She leaned over the well, apparently mesmerized at her reflection.

As if on cue, a black wisp of rolling smoke formed in front of Charlie; and as if he was being poured into shape, Ares appeared. Charlie jumped up, his wand at the ready. As soon as his shape solidified, Ares pointed his wand at Charlie and executed a curse, which Charlie blocked effectively.

"Where's your army, Ares?" Charlie said, chiding him.

Ares face was a mask of fury. He continued to throw curses at him which Charlie deflected expertly. Ares was being reckless and Charlie was sure that he would hit Azura, but Charlie didn't think he cared. He was angry, no, _incensed._

"What's the matter, Ares?" Charlie taunted. "Lose something?"

"I wouldn't be so arrogant if I were you. Are you forgetting who I have?" Ares said angrily.

"Oh, right. Right. Jessica." He said thoughtfully, chewing on his bottom lip. "Did you bring her? I thought this was supposed to be a prisoner exchange." He turned around expectantly. "I brought your little girl friend. Where's mine? Look, I'm not giving up my prisoner until you give me yours." Charlie smiled smugly. "Give it up, Ares. We both know you don't have Jessica; you never did. You've lost."

"That's where you're wrong, Weasley," Ares said. "I've already defeated you and you don't even realize it." He laughed derisively. He grabbed Azura's arm and the two of them disapparated before Charlie could stop him.


	13. Chapter 13 Ares's Revenge

_Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling_

Chapter 13—Ares's Revenge

Charlie thought that was that when Ares disappeared with Azura, but he turned around slowly and realized that he wasn't where he should be either. The village had disappeared around him and he stood in an open field. It wasn't the desert or the mountains, he was some place else. The sun was lower in the sky than it had been, so he didn't know if it was later or he had apparated with Ares to another location further east. He didn't recognize anything. The only thing he knew that he was outside and he was alone.

The words Ares spoke haunted him; he was defeated, but that was impossible. Zephas had come through and destroyed Ramorphus's demon army. He wanted to get back to his men and fight Ares's wizard army. If he knew where he was, he could disapparate.

Charlie heard a voice behind him; he swung around but nobody was there. He shook his head, trying to get the voice out of his head. Who was talking to him? He looked down at his hands, and in his right hand, in the place of his wand, he was holding a machete. _This has to be a dream, _he thought. He tried to drop the machete, but he couldn't let it go.

Charlie heard movement next to him. He turned and swung the machete instinctively, striking something hard. There was a gurgling sound and he was sprayed with blood. Turning toward the sound, he saw where the machete had landed. It had struck the woman standing next to him in her neck, almost decapitating her. She cried out in surprise and held her neck trying desperately to stop the bleeding. She was covered in blood, but Charlie didn't recognize her.

She gasped. "You've killed me." And she fell down, her blood soaking the ground. He looked down at her, still not recognizing the pale figure. He kneeled beside her and brushed the hair out of her face. He started to get up, but slipped on the blood and fell on top of the woman. He was now soaked in her blood. She was barely alive, but she kept crying, "No, please, don't."

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" he repeated angrily, standing up. He had to make her shut up. With every plea for her life, the angrier he became. _Shut up, _he thought angrily, his fury mounting with every breath. Her pleading was driving him insane. He started kicking the woman hard in the head and in her stomach. He stomped on her until she stopped moving. "Shut up! Shut up, bitch!" He screamed at her, swinging the machete.

"Charlie!" a voice from behind him shouted. "What have you done?" He turned around and saw Ricardo running up to him. He took the machete out of his hand, tossing it aside and pushed him away from the woman lying dead on the ground. "_Jesus, Charlie_!" Ricardo said, holding his hand to his mouth. "What did you do?"

Rage was still racing through his body. He had never experienced such hatred in all his life. He was glad she was dead. Why was Ricardo so upset, he wondered. He felt good that he had silenced the woman. Ricardo pushed Charlie out of the way and knelt down in front of the woman. His shaky hand felt for a pulse. "Jesus," he said again, standing up. Charlie took a step toward Ricardo, but he shoved him back.

"_Son of a bitch_," Ricardo said quietly.

Charlie was confused. Why was his friend yelling at him? Suddenly Charlie realized that he was back in the village at the exact same spot he'd disappeared. He was on the ground and Ricardo stood over him pointing a wand in his face with one hand; his other hand clenched tightly in a fist. The look on Ricardo's face was incredulous. Charlie was surrounded by his soldiers who were looking at him in disbelief. Then he saw the dead woman lying covered with blood, hacked to pieces. It was Azura.

"Oh, my God," he said. "What happened?"

Ricardo looked at him. "You killed her, Charlie."

Charlie shook his head. "No! I didn't. No, I couldn't have." His hands and clothing were covered in blood. The bloody machete lay not two feet away from him, kicked out of the way. Charlie tried to stand up, but he was shaking so badly, he couldn't. "Fuck," he whispered. He looked down at his clothes. He was covered in blood.

"What do you remember?" Ricardo asked.

"I was somewhere else. Alone. I heard a noise and I had a machete in my hand. I swung it; I don't know why I did that. Why would I have a machete in my hand and not my wand? I hit someone with the machete and I heard crying and I remember I was just so angry and I kept telling her to shut up, but she kept crying, begging me not to hurt her. Oh Jesus, what have I done?" He held his head in his hands. "I killed her," he said in disbelief.

"You must have been imperiused," Ricardo said honestly.

"I knew what I was doing, Boo." He hung his head. "I killed her." He repeated. "She was begging for her life and I kept hitting her. What kind of monster does that?"

"It wasn't you, Charlie. You'd never do that. I know you too well."

"Did the men see me?" he asked, still stunned.

Ricardo looked him in the eyes and nodded.

"Oh, fuck me. I just remember being so _angry_. I just wanted to shut her up." Charlie closed his eyes, trying to erase the vision of him hacking the woman to death, screaming at her to shut up.

"You said something about Jessica," he said.

"I did? I don't remember that. What did I say?" he asked.

"Something like, 'Jessica's dead and now I'm going to kill you'." Ricardo said, remembering. "You said her name two or three times, after, you know?"

Charlie shook his head. "No. I knew Jessica was all right. I told you that. Boo, I can fight off an Imperius curse; I've done it a hundred times, but it didn't feel like an imperius curse. Ares and Azura disapparated and the next thing I knew I was in a field somewhere. I wasn't here.

"Why didn't someone stop me?" he asked, anguished.

"It was too late, Charlie. We came in after she was on the ground. She wasn't moving and you kept kicking her and slashing her with that machete. Charlie," Ricardo said sternly. "It. Wasn't You. He emphasized. "You were _imperiused_. Nobody's going think less of you. It'll be all right. It wasn't your fault. Ares got his revenge. He knows you well enough that you're going to be ate up in guilt. That's how he works. You have to get past that, Charlie. I know it'll be hard, but for the sake of your men and our fight, you have to let it go."

Charlie stared at Ricardo and shook his head. "It's not that simple, my friend," he said.


	14. Chapter 14 Forgiveness

_Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling_

Chapter 14--Forgiveness

After that day, Charlie Weasley was not the same. Ares knew Charlie Weasley very well. Killing Jessica would have only made Charlie seek revenge, so Ares came up with a brilliant method of killing him: death by conscience.

Charlie had killed before; he killed Murieann and the vampire triplets, but he had never killed anyone who wasn't trying to kill him first. Azura was under a calming spell and was absolutely no threat.

He was haunted by the visions of Azura, begging, pleading for her life while he stomped and slashed the life out of her. He remembered everything; every detail. It didn't matter that he was under a spell far worse than an Imperius Curse; even worse than the painless killing curse.

The more he reflected, the more he knew that he could have stopped himself, but he didn't. His rage to silence her could have been contained. Now that he thought about it, as if he could think of anything else, he realized how easy it would have been for him to drop the machete before the first blow. He didn't _have _to kill her.

Was anyone safe from him now? What about his friends? Would the same rage take over his mind so that he had to kill again?

Charlie Weasley, eternal optimist, genial do-gooder was turning into a brooding tortured soul. His temper flared often, causing the people around him to scurry away, which cause him more anguish.

He couldn't sleep without nightmares. No one could convince him that Azura's death wasn't his fault; that he had been jinxed. On an intellectual, rational level, Charlie knew that. In his right mind he would never kill an innocent person or someone who was not a threat to his survival or the survival of his loved ones. It was the brutality that horrified him.

One evening, not too long after they returned from the village, as Charlie stood outside and watched the sunset, Ricardo walked up to him and stood by his side. Neither spoke for a long time, both watching the sunset. Finally, Ricardo looked at his friend, and saw how his face had changed. Any hint of the fun-loving Charlie was gone. His eyes were empty and he looked like he hadn't slept in months.

"Charlie," he said quietly.

Charlie's expression didn't change. The only indication that he heard him was that he inhaled loudly.

"Charlie," he repeated. "You need to get over this. Your attitude is affecting the men."

"Right," he said finally, looking at his friend. "I know. You're right. But this is killing me. I just cannot forget about it. How am I supposed to feel? So, I mutilated a beautiful woman; no big deal, right?"

"Dammit, Charlie, you were _cursed._ It _wasn't_ you, not the person I know. The Charlie Weasley I know couldn't have killed anyone." He said.

"But Charlie Weasley _did _do it, not you or anyone else. How am I supposed to get over it?" he said, bitterly."It isn't like I was having an out of body experience or have no memory of it, and I didn't wake up suddenly with a machete in my hand standing over a mutilated corpse wondering who the fuck did this. I was in completely aware of what I was doing while I was doing it. The only part I can't understand or explain, other than the obvious, is the uncontrollable rage I felt."

"But that's not right, Charlie. For a split second you didn't know what you had done, remember? I didn't say it was going to be easy, Charlie. You need to talk to someone. Someone who'll be able to help you."

Charlie was silent for a while, thinking about what his friend had said. He looked back out at the dying sunset and nodded. "You're right. What do you suggest?"

Ricardo shifted uncomfortably. "This is going to sound really weird, but hear me out, okay?"

Charlie looked at him.

"I think you should talk to your brother." Ricardo paused, waiting on a response.

"Which one? I have five." He almost smiled.

Ricardo cleared his throat. "I think you need to talk to Fred."

"_Fred_? My dead brother, Fred?" Charlie laughed humorlessly. "I would love to, Ricardo. Find the machete I used to hack Azura to death and plunge it into my heart so I can talk to my brother. I am more than ready."

Ricardo sighed audibly. "There's a shaman who lives in a cave not too far from here. He's a bit of a hermit, but he's very powerful and he talks to spirits. It's an ancient ceremony the natives use. I really believe he can help you, Charlie. Will you at least consider it? You're no good to us now.

"He's wants to see you. He told me that he has seen your tortured spirit and he wants to help. He says that your brother has contacted him and wants to help you, too." Ricardo explained.

Again, Charlie laughed a flat laugh. "Don't oversell. I know I need help. Actually what I need more than anything is to be able to go to sleep without replaying the horrified look on Azura's face as I hacked her to death."

"We can leave tomorrow morning. This is going to work out, I know it." He said.

"Whose idea was it? Yours?" Charlie asked.

Ricardo shook his head. "Actually it was Maria's idea. Watching you suffer like this is killing her; it's killing all of us. We need you back."

Charlie rubbed his hands over his face and then stretched his arms over his head, trying to get out the kinks in his tired body.

"You want a dreamless sleeping potion?" Ricardo asked watching his friend.

Charlie nodded his head. "It don't think it will work, but I'm exhausted. If I don't get some sleep soon I really will collapse. But every time I close my eyes…" he didn't finish.

"Maybe you need a woman," Ricardo offered helpfully.

Charlie looked at him drolly. "Thanks anyway. That's the last thing I need right now." He turned serious. "I'd be afraid I'd hurt her, and I really couldn't live with myself then."

Although it was very difficult for Charlie to concentrate on anything other than Azura, he was still in charge of a hell of a lot of soldiers. He wanted to give up his leadership role, but no one would listen to him. Although he considered himself a despicable human being, no one else seemed to agree. Everyone believed in him and understood that he had been cursed; that he wasn't responsible for the woman's death.

That was the most frustrating part for Charlie; he wanted everyone to condemn him for what he did; to turn away in disgust; to punish him. But no one would. Everyone was too nice to him and that infuriated him more.

Wisely, he thought, the women soldiers stayed away from him. They believed in him as a leader, but trusting him enough to be alone with him was another story. No one was sure if the curse was over or that there was lingering side effects. Maria Therese attended the daily briefings, but was careful not to get too close to him. So it surprised Charlie when Ricardo told him that it was she who recommended the shaman to cleanse his soul. He wanted to seek her out and thank her, but he knew that was not a good idea.

Charlie took Ricardo's advice and took a sleeping potion. He still had nightmares, but at least he was able to close his eyes and he no longer was haunted every second by Azura's eyes pleading for him to stop.

Ricardo woke Charlie up a little before dawn. He was starting to get restless anyway, so he was relieved when Ricardo told it was time for them to go. The shaman lived somewhere in the mountains and they were able to fly to the place in a relatively short time.

The short, ancient man was waiting for them when they arrived. He told Ricardo to leave. Reluctantly, Ricardo returned to the camp. The man, whose name was Nalin, looked to be older than the mountains themselves. He knew Charlie's story and told him he had received a visitor from a man with red hair who said he needed to help his brother. Nalin said that the spirit had called himself Fred and that he was tall and very thin and had a friendly smile. Most spirits, he said, were sad souls, but although Fred was smiling, he was troubled that Charlie was so tortured. Fred, he said, wanted to talk to him. He also said that he regretted not being able to talk to him before he died.

"I don't know how he died," Nalin said, "But he was happy when he died. He misses his like-brother and his family. But he told me it was meant to be. He said his spirit lives in the tribute you made for him." The old man shook his head. "I didn't understand what he meant, but he showed me a black heart."

Charlie gasped. He had a black heart tattooed on his chest after Fred died as a tribute to him. He absently touched the tattoo. A tear rolled down his face. He smiled. Fred would be the one to make him feel better. He was always ready for a laugh or a joke. He liked to make other people happy.

The old man sat Charlie down in front of the fire. Once he was settled in, he began the ritual, which included chanting and burning of an incense of some kind. It smelled sickly sweet and as Charlie inhaled the smoke, he became dizzy and felt he was in some kind of stupor. Nalin called Fred's name in a strange language. He was asking him to come and sit with them. The room disappeared and he and Nalin were on top of a high mountain, above the clouds. He heard some kind of chanting music. He saw the silhouettes of many people lined up around them. Nalin was offering the burning incense as a tribute. He spread his hands over his head and it looked like a great bird swooped down and took the offering. The silhouetted figures chanted louder and louder. Charlie found himself standing up watching the sky; waiting. The bird flew away and the chanting stopped. Nalin turned to face him. He said something to him in a strange tongue and pointed to a large boulder.

Charlie looked at the boulder and he saw someone come from around it and walk toward him. He sat down across from him. The figure seemed to be radiating a white light. He felt the figure was talking to him but he couldn't understand the words. He wanted the figure to say something, but instead Nalin opened his mouth and spoke, "Brother," he said. "I need to tell you this. Your mind can be at peace if you ask for forgiveness. Ares cursed you with the one thing that he knows will destroy your soul. The only way you can have peace is for you to forgive yourself. You must do that."

He saw the figure smile and nod to him. In his mind, Charlie heard him say, "I miss you, brother. And you couldn't have stopped my death; it was meant to be." The figured disappeared.

Charlie fell to his knees and cried with a loud ceaseless cry. He didn't know how long he knelt, crying not only for Azura, but also for the forgiveness from his brother. The next thing he knew, Charlie and Nalin were back in the cave. He was curled up in front of the fire covered with a blanket. He felt he had slept for days. He was rested and the images were gone.

He had no idea how long he'd been asleep, but there was no light coming from the cave entrance. He got up and walked to the entrance and looked out at the night sky. It was beautiful. Peace had returned to his soul.


	15. Chapter 15 Boys' Night Out

_Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling_

Chapter 15—Boys' Night Out

Charlie flew back to the camp late that night. The sentry were the only ones awake and on duty. He greeted them with the password and he wandered to his tent. He sank into his cot and fell into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

Next morning he was the first person in the mess tent. He ate a bowl of _menudo_ while he read the intelligence briefings and notes from Travis on their progress. As people started filing into the tent, they watched Charlie cautiously; not daring to catch his eye and Charlie appeared to be oblivious to the furtive glances.

He made several notes on the papers that he wanted to talk to Ricardo and the rest about. The decreased activity in the past few weeks, which, he believed, coincided with the demon battle was significant.

Charlie reached across the table and took a tortilla from the warmer and looked up. Everyone in the tent was looking at him. He took a bite of the tortilla and went back to the paperwork. He smiled to himself. They needed a signal that they could start breathing again.

Ricardo entered the tent and saw Charlie eating. That was encouraging, he thought. He got a cup of coffee and walked over to him. Charlie looked up.

"Sit down," he said, clearing off a spot on the cluttered table.

Ricardo watched him as he sat down. Charlie looked up again and smiled. Ricardo smiled back. "Welcome back," he said.

Charlie smiled again and nodded to his friend. "It's good to be back," he said honestly. "And, thank you." Charlie scratched his head absently. "So, how long was I gone?"

"Three days. I was starting to get worried," Ricardo said.

"So, what's been going on?" Charlie asked.

The big battle hadn't happened as scheduled on the day of the demon battle. Ares's wizard army hadn't shown up, so the decision they needed to figure out was if they were going to engage in a pitched battle or continue with the little skirmishes. The skirmishes worked to keep Ares's army on its toes, but there wasn't a discernable end in sight. However with a pitched battle, when both armies are on one field of battle and there's a better chance for a clear winner; winner take all. But with a pitched battle, Ares's army could just as well win as E_l Ejército de la Justa_. Ultimately, Charlie realized that the final battle was coming and he hoped it would be soon. The army of the righteous was ready and, in Charlie's opinion, they would win.

No one had actually seen Ares in several weeks. His demon army, having been destroyed by the other demon army, was no longer a factor, so Ares, coward that he was, was hiding out somewhere afraid that Ramorphus would find him. Intelligence suggested that he was hiding out in America, probably Texas, leaving his lieutenants in charge of the war in the desert. That was the first of Ares's miscalculations.

Ares's second and most deadly miscalculation was Charlie himself. Charlie was one hundred percent back and more determined than ever to beat Ares and have it end in the desert before any more innocents were hurt or killed.

Charlie magicked his bowl to the dirty dishes rack and got up for another cup of coffee. He was headed for the coffee on the far end of the room, when he suddenly turned around.

"Ricardo, I think we need a night out. How about one night off?" he said.

"Hell yes. I think we've earned it." He said, grinning.

"Excellent. Give everyone not on duty a weekend off. I want everyone to stand down beginning at dusk. We're not ready to declare total victory yet, but I am so ready to get pissed."

Charlie actually grinned and everyone in the tent visibly relaxed. Everyone had been tensed and on edge since Charlie returned from the village where he had killed Azura. His mood affected everyone else. Now it seemed that the old Charlie had returned.

Of course, that wasn't entirely true. Charlie wouldn't never fully recover from that, but he had gotten acceptance and forgiveness and now he was able to move on. His personal demons were gone, but he could never forget what he had done.

There were several purposes for the weekend off. First, everyone did need a day off from the pressures and stress of being an army alerted for war. Second, Charlie felt it was necessary for everyone to see that the army was confident and that they were still on the job. Charlie also wanted to gather intelligence in a more relaxed manner. He wanted to see what the general mood of the "civilians" was. The war in the desert was taking its toll on the wizard villages in the area. Except for the muggle village that was destroyed, and then they didn't really have a clue what was going on until it hit them, muggles didn't know that a war was being waged.

After breakfast, Charlie found Wolfgang, who was tinkering with something in his tent. Wolfgang looked up expectantly.

"You look better, _jefe_," he said, shaking Charlie's hand. "We were all very worried about you."

"Thanks." Charlie said. "I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate the hard work you've done for the army and for me."

Wolfgang didn't say anything, he bent his head slightly.

"Do you know where Ares is?" he asked.

Wolfgang shook his head. "I do know he vanished. His men don't even know where he is."

"Ares is a coward." Charlie said frankly. "I think, and this is just speculation, that he is with his other army, the urban recruits that are active in the more populated areas. I'm guessing he's with them in Texas or someplace else. That army is having more luck than his witless group in the desert."

Wolfgang nodded in agreement. "His desert army is more or less leaderless right now. They never were that organized, but he is a good recruiter and he sure can talk victory up. He recruits from the towns, feeding on the angst and feelings of anarchy of the youth. He makes it very attractive to join the dark side.

"I don't think they know what they're in for. We could probably wipe them out in a single battle; I mean his army in the desert. I think they've been abandoned. Ares was counting so heavily on the demon army, that he doesn't have a plan B. Also, I think he's hiding out from Ramorphus," Wolfgang said. He sat back and waited for Charlie to react. Wolfgang was itching for a fight. He had seen Ares's army up close and knew they were a defeated army.

Charlie nodded thoughtfully, absorbing what Wolfgang told him. It made sense and it was basically what he was thinking, too.

"What do you think it would take to draw Ares back to the desert?" Charlie asked.

Wolfgang scratched his chin, and then smiled. "You," he said.

Charlie shrugged. "Maybe. He thinks he's defeated me as well. That's his only consolation."

"Well_, jefe_, if we attack his army in the desert and they see you, I think it'll bring him out. Maybe one person in the whole army knows where he is, but no more than that" Wolfgang said.

"Who is that?"

Wolfgang took a deep breath and squinted his eyes, thinking hard. "There are actually four semi-leaders. They fight among themselves a lot because each wants to become supreme commander. None of them are worth a damn, except one. He is quiet and stays out of it mostly. I think he's the one who knows where Ares is. His name is Jonah. He came with Ares from where ever the hell he came from." Wolfgang shrugged. "Might be his boyfriend for all I know," he said, facetiously.

"Do you think he has spies in town?" Charlie asked.

"Probably" Wolfgang said, nodding his head.

"If I showed up in town, you know, drinking and whooping it up, do you think someone would get the message to Ares?" Charlie asked.

"Yes, I do," he agreed. "I think that just might bring him back."

"Brilliant. We will have our final battle on our terms. We're going out tonight to the town. You want to join our little party?"

Wolfgang nodded. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

They waited until dark and the three of them, Charlie, Wolfgang, and Ricardo apparated to the nearest wizard town. The first leg of their night's adventure was the first of many bars. The town was basically a tourist trap for coming-of-age wizards and witches, and the bars were crowded with unwary teens looking to score their first weekend without the parents. Charlie liked these places because they were usually raucous. Someone in the place was bound to recognize him, which, for one of the first times in his life, he was counting on it. Charlie knew that Ares read the wizard tabloids and if he could get one or two pictures taken of him acting a fool, he was sure Ares would see it. That was his Plan B in case Ares didn't have any spies.

They were an odd looking trio. The celebrity Charlie Weasley and he did put on his celebrity face; the scary looking outlaw desperado, Ricardo, and Wolfgang, the blue-eyed Mexican. The only one who looked mildly uncomfortable was Wolfgang, who was the closest thing to anti-social. Wolfgang was all about the research and didn't mix well with others. Charlie told him if he got enough mescal in him, he'd be all right.

They sat down in a table in full view of the bar and the front door. Charlie got a lot of double takes, and soon the bar was full of whispering and discreet pointing.

_Look, look, but don't look. That guy, over there. No, that one, the red head. Who does he look like to you?_

_Oh my God! It's not him._

_It is him. _

_Oh my God, he's gorgeous._

Ricardo rolled his eyes, and Charlie almost choked on drink he was just bringing to his lips. Wolfgang looked uncomfortable.

Charlie got up from the table and walked over to the bar. He purposely walked into a group of giggling girls. He flashed them his famous Weasley grin and leaned over one of them to talk to the bartender. "Give us another bottle of mescal, _por favor." _He threw some money on the bar and looked around at the girls.

"Hello, ladies," he said courteously. "My friends and I were wondering if you lovely ladies would care to join us." He pointed to his table.

More giggling. One bold girl said, "You look like that Quidditch player, Charlie Weasley."

"You know," he said, flirting outrageously. "I get that a lot. What's your name?"

"Keira," she said, blushing furiously.

He took her hand and leaned in. "Hello, Keira, I'm Charlie." He said it loud enough for her friends to hear him.

The girls' eyes got real big, setting off another flurry of giggles.

Keira leaned in closer to him and whispered. "It is you, right? You are," she gulped, "the Charlie Weasley."

He nodded solemnly. "But don't tell anyone, I'm here incognito. So, you and your friends want to join us?"

Before they all could get seated, Charlie and Keira were making out passionately. When they finally came up for air, Charlie noticed that Wolfgang was turned several shades of red and Ricardo was making out with two of the girls.

"Wow," Keira said. "My family is such big fans. But why aren't you in training camp?"

Charlie shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm re-negotiating my contract," he said, flippantly. "I imagine I'll be back in a couple of weeks." He cringed inside; that sounded so arrogant. Actually, he was thinking that his sorry ass would be cut unless he could convince the owners of the Reds that he had a good enough reason for missing the first month of training camp. There was always a possibility everyone would be so pissed at him that he'd never play professional Quidditch again. Maybe the Mexican team could let him play, he thought ruefully.

"My father won't believe that I'm here with you," she continued blissfully.

"How about we don't tell your father, okay? What I've got on my mind isn't good for my health, if you know what I mean." He inwardly winced again, hoping that he got his point across without having to repeat himself.

Keira blushed and giggled some more. "Hey, do you mind if I took a picture of the two of us? They are _never_ going to believe me unless I have proof."

What about your friends, won't they vouch for you?"

"No, I want to make all of those bitches at home jealous, too." She giggled again.

"Well," he pretended to think it over. "Sure, why not? Ah, I see you have one of those Muggle camera phones. Cool. Here." He took the cell phone and handed it to Wolfgang, who stared at it blankly. He didn't know what it was. Charlie grinned, snatched it away and gave it to one of the girls. "Keira wants a picture. Do you mind?"

The giggly girl shook her head. "If I can be next," she said, clearly having a double meaning. Keira gave her a nasty look, but posed provocatively for the camera. Charlie looked at the picture and grinned. He looked goofy and drunk and looked like he was about to undress Keira. Just the kind of picture he was looking for.

"Oh my," he said. "Don't sell this to the tabloids, I'd be in real trouble," he said. Then he posed for more pictures. Unless the girls were total morons, these pictures would be splashed on the front of all the trashier wizard celebrity tabloids before the morning.

Well, that took care of that, he thought. His only concern was what Mike's wife Lindsey would think when she saw the pictures. She was extremely protective of her cousin, Jessica. Oh, well, he thought. It was for a good cause.

They were in the bar precisely fifty-five minutes when Charlie looked toward the front door and he spotted someone he knew. It was a celebrity reporter whom he had had a brief affair. Fuck, that was fast, he thought. He practically dumped Keira off his lap and leaned over to Wolfgang.

"The real press is here. You want to hang around?" he asked. Wolfgang was supposed to be dead and Charlie was thinking that Wolfgang's mother didn't need to see him in a celebrity tabloid, not that his mother would ever read that trash.

Wolfgang looked around quickly. Relieved that he had an out, the gratefully nodded.

"Thanks. I would really like to leave."

"I understand. I'm glad you came." He shook his hand. Ricardo looked around, having finally coming up for air.

"You leaving, man?" he asked.

Wolfgang nodded and hurried out the back way. Charlie leaned over to Ricardo. "See that blond over there? Her name's Linda Martinez. She's a reporter."

"Shit, that was fast." Ricardo said.

Charlie agreed. "We have a bit of a history. I can't remember if we ended on good terms or not."

Ricardo laughed. Charlie got up and walked over to Linda who was looking around trying to find someone.

"Hey baby," he said, smoothly.

"Charlie!" she looked surprised. She allowed him to kiss her on the cheek. "My goodness, what are you doing here? I thought you disappeared off the face of the earth. _Everyone_ is looking for you."

"And here I am. What a coincidence that you walked into the very bar I happened to be in." he said, trying to hide his grin.

"Coincidence, indeed." She said haughtily. "So, are you going to tell me where you've been?"

His grin widened. "Is this an interview?"

She shook her head. "No," she said. "I know better than that. I know you don't grant interviews."

"How about a drink then?" he said, pulling her toward his table. He pushed her gently into the chair Wolfgang just vacated.

Linda looked around at the young girls. She made a rude sound. "Looks like I'm interrupting something."

"No," he waved his hand dismissively toward the girls. "Just some new friends. Tell me, Linda," he said in his sexiest voice. "How did you find me so fast?"

"I saw the pictures."

"Fuck me, that was fast. So what do you want?" he said, pretending he was totally ignorant.

"I want you." She said. He gave her a look and she blushed. "You know what I mean. I need to know where you've been. Are you back?"

Charlie shook his head. "No, not yet. I'll be back in the public eye in a week or two. What, do you miss me?"

She snorted, covering up from her fluster. He leaned over and nuzzled her neck.

"Come on, baby. I know you missed me." He purred, kissing her ear and neck.

"Excuse me!" Keira huffed. "I'm still here."

Charlie pulled away from Linda. "Oh yeah. Linda and I are old friends. Bugger away, please." He said politely.

Keira slapped her hands on the table. She got up and tried to pull her two friends away from Ricardo, who were not quite ready to leave.

"Come on," she pleaded to her friends. "Let's go. Now!" Still the girls wouldn't leave. Keira stormed away.

Charlie watched her leave as she huffed out the door, then turned his attention back to Linda. Where were we?" he said, snuggling into her.

"Stop," she said weakly. "I need a story."

He shook his head.

"Please?" she begged. "Where have you been?"

Charlie looked exasperated. "Come on, Linda, you're fucking up a perfectly good hard-on. Relax." She pushed him back.

"Okay," he said. "Damn. Ask your silly-ass questions. Then can we fuck?"

She pulled a pen and notebook out of her purse. "A couple of pictures and a few words. I swear, Charlie. Everyone thinks you're dead."

He laughed at that. Ricardo looked up from the two girls and looked horrified at Charlie. Charlie shook his head. "Not dead. Better than ever. What can I say? I've recently had an epiphany. I've discovered my inner being: who I truly am. Let me tell you, Linda. It's changed my life. I'm not going to give you specifics, because it's nobody's business. Let's just say I'm a changed man and leave it at that."

Linda looked at Ricardo grumpily. "Who's your boyfriend?"

"This is Ricardo. We worked together at the preserve."

"Ah, but you don't work there anymore. I heard about that. That's big news, too. Have you given up on dragons?"

"No," he said flatly. "I haven't given up on anything." He sighed dramatically. "Come on, baby. Are we going to fuck or what?"

She closed her notebook. "Or what. You know, you were never this gross before. What's gotten into you?" She pitched his wandering hands away from her.

"It's my new philosophy of life. Did you bring your photographer?" he asked, looking around. "You can take as many pictures as you want. You can tell people I've been in rehab, I don't care." He downed the last bit of mescal in the bottle and proceeded to eat the worm. He held up the bottle. "Oops." He said, laughing.

"Look, baby, this is your last chance. My _amigo_ and I have to plow, unless you want to go out back." He nudged his head toward the back alley.

"Asshole," she said. She snapped the notebook into her purse. She stood up and Charlie stood up with her. He leaned over and kissed her soundly on the mouth.

"Relax, baby. Take care of yourself. When I come back, you'll be the first I talk to." She pushed away from him and stormed out the bar.

Charlie sat back down and laughed. "Well, that was pleasant. Come on, Boo. We've got to finish a war."


	16. Chapter 16 Preparing for Battle

_Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling_

Chapter 16—Preparing for Battle

"_Hermano, _you were a real asshole back there." Ricardo said as they disapparated behind the bar.

When they apparated, Charlie was laughing so hard, he was holding his side. "Fuck, I got a stitch in my side. Don't make me laugh when I'm disapparating, I could have splinched something I may want to use later."

"Sorry. But you were." Ricardo said. "Do you _ever_ get laid?"

Charlie laughed even harder. He was drawing attention to some of the soldiers around him. They were surprise to see him in such good cheer.

"Not much," he confessed lightly. "But I got my point across. What do you think she is going to write about? The sweet Charlie Weasley or the asshole? I've always been the sweet guy; let Ares think what he wants. I'll bet you a week's pay he'll see that article and he's going to be very pissed off, and I think he's going to fly to his army and we can settle this once and for all. And soon. If Wolfgang's intelligence is reliable, and I'm sure it is, Ares's army can be defeated. I say the time is now to go after him."

Charlie's enthusiasm was contagious. Ricardo saw the advantage of an all-out assault, and if Charlie was right, Ares would soon be winging his way to his army in the desert. Because of his hatred of Charlie, Ares would more than likely become careless and begin to make mistakes, once he had proof that Charlie had recovered from the devastating curse. Ares clearly didn't understand Charlie's soul. He thought that Charlie would never recover from killing Azura. Charlie was right about one thing; Ares wasn't as smart as he thought he was.

The next morning, right after breakfast, Charlie ran into Wolfgang. He asked him to go into the village and buy some celebrity magazines. He wanted to find out if he'd made the front page yet. Wolfgang looked slightly embarrassed; he obviously didn't want people to think he bought the tabloids, but he agreed to check out the vendors.

An hour later, Wolfgang was back, loaded with magazines. He was still blushing furiously as he handed the stack to Charlie. Apparently the pictures were pretty racy. Charlie took the magazines away from him and blanched. He was on the cover of all seven magazines. The headlines were sensational and the pictures worse. Most of the articles were a regurgitation of Linda Martinez's article for _Witches!!_. Linda was not kind in her article; referring to Charlie was a drunken, lecherous, greedy has-been. Charlie grinned while he read Linda's article.

"Ouch," he said. "That stung." He plopped the magazine on a table and grabbed another one. Ricardo snatched it up and began reading.

Ricardo couldn't stop laughing while he read the article. He repeated some of the lines out loud, especially the more demeaning descriptions of Charlie, laughing so hard, tears were streaming down his face. Charlie rolled his eyes patiently and returned to the other articles.

"Look," he threw the magazine at Ricardo. "You made the cover, too." Charlie showed him a picture of a very distracted Ricardo making out with the two girls. Charlie was in the forefront looking like he was drunkenly arguing with someone.

"Oh fuck," said Ricardo, looking at the magazine name. "My grandmother reads this shit!" The looked at the picture closer. "Nah, you can't tell it's me."

"Bullshit, Boo. That is _you_." He pulled one of the witches who had just come into the tent and showed her the magazine Ricardo was holding.

"Who does this look like?" he asked her, pointing at the picture. The poor woman, who was terribly shy to begin with, turn very red and stammered.

"It's you, _jefe_," she said stuttering, her eyes widening.

"No, the other one." He said patiently. He pointed to Ricardo's picture. In the picture, he was switching from girl to girl, kissing each passionately.

She squinted, then drew in a quick breath and looked at Ricardo. "It looks like _Senor Ricardo_."

Charlie gave Ricardo a satisfied I-told-you-so look. "Thank you—" He looked at her expectantly.

"Raquel, _Senor Jefe_" she said, blushing even more.

"Thank you, Raquel." He bowed politely to her. He gave Ricardo a smug look.

"_Senor Jefe_," Raquel said shyly. "May I have one of these magazines when you are finished with them? The girls and I haven't had any gossip in a long time."

He made a face. Normally he didn't read or even look at the trash the tabloid came up with, and he was unsettled that people actually read them. "Sure," he said finally. "But don't believe anything you read, promise?" He gathered the rest of the magazines; snatching the one Ricardo was looking at and handed them to her. "Here you go."

"Maybe you ought to explain to her why your pictures plastered on the cover of all those magazines," Ricardo said.

Raquel looked at Ricardo like he was stupid or something. "I already know. Charlie, uh _Senor Jefe,_ is a very famous Quidditch player for America. His pictures are always on the cover of these magazines."

"Uh, yes, Raquel," Charlie began. "But this time we're trying to draw Ares back to the wizard army. Seeing my picture again just might do that. We want to draw him out. I'm embarrassed that my pictures are on the magazines, but I'm a public figure. You know everything they print are lies."

"Of course." She looked uncomfortable. "I know that."

"Okay. Good." Charlie stepped back and let her leave. She practically ran out of the tent, the magazines clung tightly to her breast.

"You know, Charlie, if Ares doesn't read the tabloids, you went through an awful lot of shit for nothing." Ricardo said.

Charlie nodded. "I'm not worried."

The rest of the day was spent in training and last minute preparations for a battle everyone knew was coming. Charlie received a letter from Travis informing him that Ares was on the move. He had been spotted headed his way. The ploy looked like it was working. Wolfgang was sent out to gather the latest intelligence. It was only a matter of hours before E_l Ejército de la Justa_ deployed.

Charlie met with the leaders of the army, right down to the squad leaders. They strategized about ever single possible scenario, including Ares cursing him again. He needed to know all about that curse so he could counteract it. Whatever the curse was, it was definitely some powerful dark magic. He had never heard of anything even close. It didn't fit an Imperius Curse because there was absolutely no resistance. He gave all the information he had about the curse (and it wasn't very much) to Travis, who was going to figure out the counter curse, if there was one.

While Charlie was concerned that the curse might be used against him by Ares, he also believed that Ares was just a one-trick pony. He was also determined to find out who Ares really was. The Auror Division was working on that. He was obviously someone of little importance in Voldemort's circle of associates since no one had heard of him. Of course, Voldemort had his own little bag of tricks and his identity could have been kept secret for a specific reason. Charlie was confident that the Auror Division would be able to tell him everything before he faced him again in battle. But they had better hurry.

Charlie's last order for the day to make sure that the soldiers got plenty of sleep. The invasion was imminent. The way Charlie figured, his army would be in position in two days. And up until the army deployed, the leaders made sure the soldiers were ready. They trained and trained and trained some more.

Charlie finally heard from Travis about the curse. He was able to find the curse in a very old and obscure dark arts book. It had been used in ancient Japan over three hundred years ago. According to Travis's research, the _unnamed_ curse caused over a hundred wizards to perform the ritual of _hara kiri,_ the Japanese ritual suicide, because of their remorse for the unspeakable acts of brutality they performed on innocent victims. The curse had no counter and Travis was unable to find anyone who had recovered from its effects. Apparently Charlie was the only wizard to have survived. Travis speculated that since he survived, if Ares tried the curse again, it would not affect Charlie because he had already experienced it and could most likely (Travis thought) defend himself against it.

Finding out who Ares really was proving to be more difficult. There were apparently over fifty wizards who left the country prior to Voldemort's death. Some were rounded up and sent to prison after his death, while the others disappeared completely. No one kept a list of Voldemort followers, so the names couldn't be found. Unless the wizards were captured or made a name for themselves after Voldemort's death, there was no way to determine who they were. Charlie was still optimistic that the Auror Division, with the cooperation of the Ministry of Magic, could find out who Ares was. Someone must know who he was.

The air in the camp was electrified. Morale was high and everyone was looking forward to the fight. The soldiers were ready. The only thingthe leaders were waiting for was Wolfgang's report.

Finally, Wolfgang reported back to the camp. He was in high spirits, too. Ares was indeed back but he came back to a mess. Ares's leaders were at each other's throats, each claiming supreme leadership. Ares was so angry when he returned that he killed all the leaders except Jonah, who took over command. He had no real leaders and morale was low. The army in the desert had counted on the demon army, so when Zephas's demons defeated them, the army appeared to be devastated. That was good news indeed.

Everyone believed that the sooner the army of the righteous attacked, there was more hope for a decisive win and the end of Ares. The longer they waited, the greater the risk that Ares would be able to rebuild his army not with experienced wizards, but by sheer numbers.

The troops got the word. They were moving out that night. The army would attack Ares's headquarters at dawn.


	17. Chapter 17 Justice

_Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling_

Chapter 17—Justice

Charlie read the piece of paper that was folded twice and was addressed to him from Amanda Davis, Auror Division, Department of Magic, Silas Roundtree, _Secretary._

"Charlie, this is all we could find on Ares. This is the official Department of Magic Report. Real name Herman Figg. Born in London 1969. Parents Herman Sr. and Bonnie Figg. Pureblood. See attached report."

Charlie read the report and smiled to himself. He handed the letter and the report to Ricardo who perused it carefully.

"Before he met Lord Voldemort (Tom Riddle), Herman Figg was a nondescript administrative clerk for a small retail shop. Lord Voldemort recruited him for his sadistic tendencies, complimenting him and encouraging him while polite society had struggled to repress him. Lord Voldemort promised him a high position with his most trusted soldiers and sent him to Albania before the Battle of Hogwarts to prepare for the next phase in Lord Voldemort's plan for total world domination.

"Before Voldemort was killed by Harry Potter, he had planned to expand his empire to part of the world that had not heard of the Dark Lord or Death Eaters. Figg was going to rule America for Lord Voldemort. After Voldemort was killed, a number of death eaters escaped and were never captured.

"Figg surfaced two years ago in Texas where he tried to complete Voldemort's plan. He was forced into hiding after a skirmish with members of the Society of Fred, led by Travis Davis, Homer "Tex" Patzche, and Zelmer "Tex" Hollingsworth.

"His identity was unknown until he resurfaced again in the mountains of Mexico where he recruited a wizard army. E_l Ejército de la Justa__, _led by Charlie Weasley has been battling Figg, who now calls himself "Ares" for approximately *classified*."

Ricardo handed the folded paper back to Charlie and smiled. Charlie returned his smile and nodded.

Within the hour, E_l Ejército de la Justa _was in striking distance of the Ares's desert army. The best strategy, as they saw it was positioning themselves within sight of the enemy camp, but proceeding no further. They would begin by launching several volleys of anti-protective curses, which should render their protection ineffectual, from their offensive location. The barrage would commence as soon as Wolfgang returned with his final analysis.

As they waited on Wolfgang, a small flock of buzzards began circling over the army. Some of the soldiers were beginning to look nervous, but Charlie just grinned. One of the largest buzzards he had ever seen flew right over him and landed behind a medium sized rock. Stepping out from the rock was Wolfgang, fastening the buttons on a black and red shirt. Charlie and Wolfgang nodded to each other. Ricardo and the others stared at him not sure what to think. There are apparently weren't that many animagi in Mexico, and Charlie figured this group had never seen one.

"The army is afraid, _jefe," _Wolfgang said confidently. The weakest point in their barriers is actually to the west. It's penetrable even now. A couple of blasts and the rest of the protections will be gone."

"Are they coming to meet us?" Charlie asked, looking toward the camp.

"Oh yes, they are mobilizing now. Ares is scared, but if he doesn't go out with his men, then I'm sure they're going to abandon him." Wolfgang produced a drawing of the camp from a small bag he wore around his neck. He pointed out the key places that there were troops and equipment hidden. Their food supply was vulnerable and there was also a small area set up for prisoners.

"Prisoners? Do they have any?" Charlie asked. Whatever the army of the righteous was going to throw at Ares, he sure as hell didn't want to harm any prisoners.

Wolfgang shook his head. "I didn't see any."

"And where is Ares?" Charlie looked at several places marked on the map. They looked like good hiding places for a coward like Herman Figg.

Wolfgang pointed to a location on the most fortified area.

"Let's bring the fight to us." Charlie gave the signal and the barrage began. There was a lot of explosive noises because Charlie wanted to make sure that everyone could hear what they were doing. He wanted to scare them, and apparently it was working. The barriers were down within thirty minutes. Then Charlie called in the big guns.

More noise, more fireworks. It felt like the earth was shaking. This went on non-stop for over an hour. Then as quickly as it began, it stopped. The silence was deafening. Half of the camp was on fire, the other half was smoldering. Ares's little army tried to assemble, but there was only major chaos.

In a voice that could be heard all the way to Mexico City, Charlie called out. "Herman," he said. "It's time for you to come out now. This is the battle, Herman. All or nothing. Come out now or we'll destroy your camp."

There was a feeble attempt to launch a barrage. But clearly the army was ill prepared.

"Do battle or surrender," Charlie said. "It's your choice, but we are not going anywhere."

The army watched as a band of soldiers flew out of the camp in formation. They were ready to attack and the call was given to be prepared. Protective charms were thrown and the army stood their ground. Ares's wizards threw curse after curse, trying to penetrate the protection. There was small breeches, but for the most part, the protective barriers stayed intact.

Their best assault was from the air. Ricardo commanded a brigade to meet the enemy in the air and the battle became fierce. There were many casualties on both sides and at once it looked like Ares's army was at the advantage, but the flying brigade held its own and eventually broke through and fought them back.

The final assault came as wizard on wizard fought on the ground. Charlie fought along side his men and were impressed with the heart and dedication both the witches and wizards demonstrated. The curses were hard, fast and lethal. Ares's army chose to use the killing curse whenever possible, but they were poor executors, and Charlie's army was much better trained in defensive spells, so there were far fewer casualties than expected. The army of the righteous were superior in dodging and defense and the curse they used, even the less lethal ones were more effective.

The battle continued for several hours. While Charlie's army smaller in size they were the superior force. Eventually, it became evident that Ares's army was losing more and more ground. At one point, Charlie called to them again and asked them to surrender. He offered them a chance to survive. It soon became clear that Ares was threatening them to stay and fight, when clearly they were ready to surrender.

He stood behind his army, yelling at them; cursing them. He called them cowards and whores and anyone who surrendered would be killed.

Out of the eastern sky, a gigantic odd cloud formation moved in over the battle field. It held a greenish glow and it traveled in a fast, swirling motion, kicking up lots of the desert dust. Everyone's eyes turned to the cloud. There was a screeching sound like a thousand souls were loosed on the desert.

A rotating cloud stopped directly overhead and a whirling funnel cloud fell slowly and deliberately to earth. The funnel cloud rotated and soon had sprung five smalls clouds turning the larger funnel cloud into a monstrous hand. The wizards in Ares's army panicked when they saw the giant clawed hand reach down into Ares's army, throwing the wizards into the air and tossing them like they were sticks. The hand seemed to be searching for something or someone.

The eerie hand picked up a cowering figure that Charlie recognized as Herman Figg. He struggled vainly as he was picked up and taken away by the cloud. He screams were heard loud and long until the hand turned back into a single funnel cloud and disappeared into the larger cloud. The screams and the screeching stopped and the cloud rumbled turning reddish black, finally moving back to the direction it came from. The morning sky returned; the sun shone brightly.

Ramorphus had taken her payment; Ares's soul. Ares was gone. And this time he wouldn't return. E_l Ejército de la Justa _cheered. It was over.

Again Charlie addressed Ares's men. "You're done. Lay down your wands and surrender. We won't kill you. There's nothing left for you to fight for."

Jonah, who was left in charge of the army, knew this was not the time to continue the fight. It was better to surrender and live to regroup and fight another day than to die in the desert like a dog. He chose surrender.

This did not mean the end of the dark arts, it was just the end of Ares. Charlie knew that there would be others, but today his army prevailed.


	18. Chapter 18 Return to Normal

_Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling_

Chapter 18—Return to Normal

It was finally over. As wars go, Charlie reasoned, it wasn't a very long one, probably one of the shortest in the history of magic. As soon as Jonah surrendered, the Mexican _Departamento y Regulación de Mágicamente Seres, _along with the Department of Magic swooped in and took charge, escorting the prisoners away_. _Nobody cared least of all Charlie and Ricardo; let someone higher up the food chain take responsibility and credit for all of this.

The first thing Charlie did was send his _patronus_ to Travis and the Society, letting them know that he was all right and that he'd be coming home soon. He was anxious to get home and back to the easy life, as he described it.

In a grand ceremony, representatives of the Mexican Department of Magic brought with them a proclamation from the Minister officially declaring the E_l Ejército de la Justa _the official army of the wizarding state, and as such were ordered de-activated until the Minister and the _Departamento y Regulación de Mágicamente Seres _called them to duty_. _What that officially meant was the thousand volunteers were now under the protection of the _MDRMS_, and would collect a salary. Ricardo was promoted to general_ de división major_. They were prepared to promote Charlie as well, be he respectfully declined. He felt he had contributed enough and requested permission to resign, which they accepted.

Both the Mexican and American Departments of Magic awarded the army, and separately Ricardo, Maria Therese, Wolfgang, Jesus Manuel, and Charlie, special medals.

As they were lined up to accept the medals and the praise from two grateful nations, Charlie rolled this eyes and whispered to Ricardo, "The fucking ceremony is taking longer than the war." Ricardo nodded his head and grinned.

But they stayed at attention while the speeches were made. For the first time both Departments were able to acknowledged E_l Ejército de la Justa. _Charlie was filled will pride as they awarded the special citations to each and every soldier. They talked of the sacrifice the soldiers made; leaving their homes and lives behind to fight a war no one until this day had heard of. But, they were assured, the world would hear of their bravery and sacrifice today.

Long after the pomp and ceremony, the leaders of the army gave their reports and were allowed to leave. Charlie embraced each one of them and told them in a choked voice how very proud he was of all of them. He thanked everyone for believing in the fight and for believing in him at the time he didn't believe in himself.

Ricardo, Wolfgang, and Charlie were hoping the Department of Magic would give them a good recommendation so they could return to the dragon preserve. Charlie pulled Silas Roundtree aside and asked him personally. Silas laughed and said it would be his honor. He also told Charlie he would put in a good word for him with the owners of the Flying American Red Dragons Quidditch team as well. Charlie broke into a bigger grin and told him, he'd _really _appreciate that. He'd be happy to be put on the second team if they'd take him back.

There was going to be a press conference as soon as Charlie got back to Austin, and Secretary Roundtree asked that he be present. Charlie was reluctant; he was not interested in receiving any more publicity, but Secretary Roundtree insisted. He told Charlie that the Society of Fred and the Auror Division were going to be recognized as well. In that case, Charlie told him he'd be delighted to attend, as long as he could stand in the background.

It wasn't until late in the afternoon before Charlie finally said his last good-byes. He posed for pictures with the witches and Raquel thanked him again for the magazines and shyly asked him to autograph one the pictures. Charlie chose the one with him and Ricardo on the cover, which irritated Ricardo.

Charlie told the other former dragon preserve workers that he would join them in a day or two in a consolidated plea for their jobs back. Charlie was sure that Wolfgang would be welcomed back, since the preserve's director, Daniel Schleif, thought Wolfgang was dead. Charlie was hoping that Daniel would listen to the Secretary of Magic and let them come back.

Charlie asked Ricardo if he wanted to go back to Austin with him to visit Travis. Ricardo seemed very interested and asked him if he thought Amanda would be there as well. Charlie raised his eyebrow.

"Yeah, maybe," he said, smirking. "She lives there."

Ricardo nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, why not? I seem to have some time on my hands."

They flew out together, opting to use their brooms instead of a more instantaneous method of travel; but they had plenty to time, obviously, because each found themselves regrettably out of work. As soon as he got to Austin, Charlie was going to talk to Coach Popov and see if he could get an interview. He was pretty sure that Guy Bingly, one of the team's owners would at least grant an interview. He missed almost a whole month of practice and Guy Bingly was not the kind who tolerated _prima donna_ antics from his players, no matter who it was.

"You got any plans tonight?" Ricardo asked after they had been flying for over an hour.

"I was planning on visiting Jessica, but I probably could postpone it. Before I left I told her we would talk about our future together. Now I don't know if that's such a hot idea." Charlie was torn because he _really_ wanted to see Jessica, but he was beginning to get cold feet over the whole "ever after" part. But he did promise, and Charlie was a man of his word. "You got any ideas?"

Ricardo shrugged. "I thought we could take everybody out for dinner," he suggested. "You know, get drunk; party."

Charlie nodded. "That sounds real good to me," he agreed.

The rest of the trip was quiet, each man in his own thoughts. Ricardo was thinking about ways to talk to Amanda without upsetting her boyfriend or her brother. On the surface, Ricardo was very intimidating and he didn't want to frighten her off. He could take the little wimp boyfriend out, but he didn't want to upset Travis.

"So, what did you think of Travis's boyfriend?" Ricardo asked, finally, trying to stop thinking about the total mess he was about to make trying to talk to Amanda.

"What?" Charlie looked at him sharply. "What are you talking about?"

"Curtis." Ricardo said. "You do know Travis is gay, right?" Ricardo asked seriously.

Charlie almost fell off his broom. He had no idea his friend was gay. "Are you sure? Wow, I never saw that coming." He said honestly. "I guess it never came up. Curtis, we met him right?" Charlie was trying to think what Curtis looked like.

Ricardo nodded. "At breakfast the day we left for the desert."

"Oh right. The assistant healer." Charlie shrugged. "I guess I didn't pay much attention to him. Oh well. I hope Travis is happy.

"And you know Amanda has a boyfriend." It wasn't a question.

Ricardo nodded. "Yeah, so?"

"I'm just saying." Charlie grinned. "Maybe we should invite him to join us. Actually, I think that's a good idea. If you're interested in Amanda, I mean. Putting the two of you up for comparison, well…"

"Fuck you, Weasley." Ricardo said, grumpily. "I don't want to _marry_ Amanda. I just think she's real interesting."

"Uh huh. Well, you're right. She is interesting. She's been through a lot, but it isn't my place to talk about it." Charlie thought about what Amanda had to go through when she helped the Society get information about Ares the first time he appeared. She was beaten and sexually assaulted by some of Ares's disciples. Charlie gave her a memory charm so she wouldn't remember how she was so badly brutalized. Amanda had a tremendous amount of spirit and Charlie cared for her a great deal. He thought Ricardo would be good for her, and she for him, but he was no fucking matchmaker.

It was dark when they finally landed at Travis's house. They knocked on the front door, which was unusual since Charlie usually apparated at his back door. Amanda opened the door and her eyes lit up.

"Charlie!" she squealed, hugging him tightly around the neck. "Come in!" She looked at Ricardo. "Hi," she said demurely. "Please come in." Amanda tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Charlie smirked at Ricardo and followed Amanda inside.

"Who's here?" Charlie asked. The Davis house was always the hub of activity.

"Just the homebodies. Everyone cleared out of here early this morning after Travis received your _patronus._ We are all so excited. You both did a wonderful job!"

Charlie laughed. "The demon did the hard part. We just kind of sat around and watched."

Amanda shook her head playfully and laughed. Her eyes skipped to Ricardo but quickly turned away when Ricardo looked at her. "That's not what I heard. I heard you both are real heroes."

Ricardo blushed slightly. "We were just doing our job."

Charlie rolled his eyes. "So, where's Travis?"

"Where do you think? In the kitchen." She laughed again. Charlie was sure Amanda was flirting at Ricardo. He hoped that his friend could pick up on the subtle gestures. She flipped her hair; touched Ricardo's army lightly. Maybe this would turn out good for both of them.

Charlie walked into the kitchen to find his old friend busily cutting vegetables.

"Put down that knife," Charlie said in a gruff voice. Travis jumped. He turned and smiled broadly.

"I was wondering when I might expect you. I heard the news from the Department of Magic right after we got your _patronus. _We're so proud of you." He said.

"Proud enough to let us take you and Amanda out to dinner?" You spend too much time in the kitchen. "Let's go out and get pissed."

Travis threw down the cook's knife and removed his apron. "I'm ready now," he said.

He followed Charlie back into the living room. "Hey, Ricardo," he said pleasantly. "It's good to see you."

It took Amanda longer to get dressed because she kept changing her outfits. She was trying to look sexy, but uninterested; then she went for the Mary Jane look, then she finally settled on a comfortable pair of jean and a clingy sweater that accentuated her figure.

When she finally walked out of her room, Charlie whistled at her. "Wow," he said. "You look great. Doesn't she Boo?"

"Very nice," he said. Amanda rewarded him with a smile.

Charlie looked at Travis and rolled his eyes. "Amanda, where's your boyfriend?" he asked innocently.

Amanda gave him a dirty look. "I don't have a boyfriend, Charlie." She said.

"My mistake."

By the time they made it to the restaurant, neither Amanda nor Ricardo was speaking to Charlie. He was amused, but after a few drinks everybody was back to normal. The conversation was lively. By the time the evening was drawing to a close, Ricardo and Amanda had cozied up together.

Charlie decided he wanted to go see Jessica that night. He checked the time and it was still pretty early. Ricardo wished him luck and told him that Travis had invited him to spend the night. Charlie grinned at him and wished him luck as well. He excused himself, paid for the dinner, disapparated after saying good bye.

Charlie apparated outside Jessica's apartment. He heard voices inside the apartment and hesitated before knocking on her door. He didn't want to interrupt anything, but he wouldn't be staying long, so he knocked and waited.

Instead of Jessica answering the door, a woman about forty opened the door. She was holding a very large wine glass. She looked up and down at Charlie.

"Well, hello there, handsome. Can I help you?" She said, leaning against the opened door.

Charlie quickly recovered. He smiled. "Hi, is Jessica here?"

She took a drink of her wine. "Whom shall I say is calling?" she asked.

"Charlie. I'm a friend of hers." He said.

The woman turned away from Charlie and shouted into the room. "Jess! Do you know anyone named Charlie?"

Charlie heard an excited scream. "Don't let him get away." She said.

"Don't worry about that, darlin'. I won't let him go anywhere. Come on in, handsome. Jess's in the kitchen."

Jessica threw open the half-closed door and squealed with delight. "Charlie!" she said, pulling him into her apartment. She kissed him, ignoring the interested looks from the women who had gathered around to check out the handsome man at the door.

Finally, she released him. Still holding on to his arm. "Charlie, these are some of my friends."

"I didn't mean to interrupt your party. I just got into town today and I wanted to see you. I can come back tomorrow," he said.

"No, please don't." She turned to her friends. "I haven't seen Charlie in a long time." She explained.

The six women began talking at once, telling Charlie to stay and join the party.

"We were about to sit down to eat. Are you hungry?" Jessica asked.

Charlie shook his head. I just ate. You ladies go ahead. I will take a glass of wine, if you're offering." He said. Suddenly he had a glass in his hand and he was pushed into a chair.

While the ladies were filling their plates, Jessica came and sat by him.

"Are you back for a while?" she asked, reaching out to touch him, making sure he wasn't a mirage.

He took a drink and shook his head. "I'm not sure. I need to talk to the Reds' owners about my job."

"What happened?" she asked in a whisper.

"I haven't been to training camp. Remember when I told you I'd be away for a while, well, it took longer, and I just got back today." He reached out and caressed her face. She held his hand to her face and kissed the palm of his hand.

"I've missed you so much," she said, quietly. She leaned closely. "I'm sorry about the company."

Charlie smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. "It's okay. I'll wait. I'm not going anywhere."

Jessica and Charlie saw that all the women were watching them with great interest. They looked slightly embarrassed. "Do you mind if I take a bath?" he asked.

"No, go ahead. Jessica jumped up and took him into her bedroom. Once she closed the door, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him longingly. "I'll be right back," she said.

Charlie went into the bath room and magicked her bathtub to almost double in size. With a wave of his wand, the enlarge tub was filled with hot, steaming water. He undressed quickly and stepped gingerly into the steaming tub. He sat down and sighed. He hadn't had a bath like this in a long time. He stretched his legs out and relaxed in the hot water. He could feel his tight muscles relax and soon he was asleep.

Charlie woke up when he Jessica slipped in the bathtub with him

"Ooh," she commented, "The water's still hot."

He opened his eyes and smiled. She was sitting across from him.

"And I like what you've done to my bathtub. You super sized it." She said dreamily.

Charlie chuckled. "I was hoping you wouldn't see that. I thought I'd be out before you got back, but I guess I fell asleep. Sorry about that." He pushed himself up and leaned into Jessica and started to kiss her. She moaned as he pulled her on top of him.

"The water's too warm, I'm afraid we'll both drown," he said. "Let's go to bed." She nodded and struggled to stand up. She grabbed a towel for both of them. Charlie dried himself off, then used her towel to dry her off. They lay across her bed holding each other.

There was nothing hurried about their lovemaking. Each took the time to please the other.

It was much later, as they lay together. Charlie was just about to drift off to sleep, when he felt Jessica's hand on his chest. "Charlie?" she whispered.

"Hmm?" He didn't open his eyes.

"Remember what we talked about before you left?" she sounded breathless.

Charlie opened his eyes and smiled. "Yes, of course I do. You want to talk about it now?"

Jessica shifted her position until she was lying on his chest. He absently stroked her hair. She cleared her throat. "I do if you do." She said hesitantly.

"Sure." Charlie was glad she wasn't looking at him right now because he was breaking out in a sweat. He made his voice sound calmer.

"If I told you," she began stroking his chest, "that I like things the way they are, what would you think about that?"

He sat up suddenly and pulled her up so he could see her face. "What are you talking about? Are you saying you don't want to get married?"

She looked nervous. "I've done a lot of thinking about this," she said. "And I love you, Charlie. But we are from two different worlds. I couldn't ask you to give up your world and I know I couldn't live in yours. I'm happy the way things are."

"Seriously?" he asked. He watched her as she nodded. He took a deep breath and then expelled it loudly. "Whew." He said, grinning.

"Can we just leave things like they are? Do you mind, terribly?" she asked.

"Of course I don't mind. I'm glad you're happy. I know I am." Charlie kissed her. She relaxed visibly.

"I was afraid that you would get upset," Jessica said. She laughed.

Charlie shook his head. "No, no. This is perfect." He said, kissing her again.

She smiled and snuggled up against him, pulling his arm around her, protecting her. She intertwined her legs with his. She sighed and closed her eyes and within minutes she was asleep.

Charlie held her. He'd dodged that bullet gracefully, he thought, smiling to himself. Now he was sure everything would be all right. He closed his eyes and fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.


End file.
